by Bruce Webb Both sides of the Health Care debate are looking and or calculating at the effects on future elections, will including a public option play in Peoria? This I think is to misunderstand the timelines because for most people the initial passage of reform really doesn’t change anything for the next two election […]

LBJ and Senator Green of RI c.NYTby Bruce Webb Now that Grassley and Enzi have shown where the wind was actually blowing on the ‘bi-partisan’ ‘compromise’ supposedly being worked out by the Senate Finance Committee’s Gang of Six it is time to hit the reset button and in the process clear up some confusion. Generally […]

By divorced one like Bush It seems to go without saying, that if there is reform, there will be some type of assistance for those who need it. Some numbers are bandied about as to the cutoff points. The Mass Connector has it’s formula up that you can play with by punching in your own […]

Ken Houghton notes the obvious corollary to Bruce Webb’s post on the 1st: if you don’t “read the bill,” the obstructionists will lie about it. UPDATE: And now corrects his misreading (see Bruce’s update below, following on Mitt Shook’s comment). Milt Shook demonstrates in detail that, even if you do, people such as Alan Caruba […]

by Bruce Webb In a previous post Robert asks the penetrating question Kevin Drum Huh? only to conclude quickly that he Robert was wrong and Kevin was right. I don’t agree for reasons laid out in comments, I invite anyone to join the discussion. But in the course of that a commenter suggested the answer […]

by cactus I can’t remember where I saw this OECD study first: Finland, the Netherlands and Sweden have the lowest prices for mobile phone calls among OECD countries, according to the latest OECD Communications Outlook. The highest were found in Canada, Spain and the United States. But after listening to folks on the right talk […]

Nor is Cate Blachett playing me. (Nor, unfortunately, am I using this as an opportunity to post a picture of Ms. Blanchett in an attempt to troll for links. You want that, go to John Carney.) Taxes are always fun, and there’s a few other things going on. But, really, let me quote the Internet’s […]

by Tom aka Rusty The Doomsday Scenario So why are conservatives so excited about health care reform? Many see the progressive left pushing a gradual move to the Doomsday Scenario, something like this: 1) private health insurance is hyper-regulated, underwriting standards are eliminated, and premium costs rise astronomically 2) employers, especially smaller employers, drop coverage […]

If you needed a picture of a Megan M., you could have used this one: I’m probably not the only one who wonders why you chose a Megan F. instead. (h/t Susan of Texas. Photo credit to superficialgallery.com)

Robert Waldmann Taunter explains the link between Monte Hall and Health Insurance. Brilliant. Via Paul Krugman via Yves Smith so I’m sure you’ve read it already but if not click now click often. James Kwak at Baseline described the practice as rare, affecting only 0.5% of the population. The faint light bulb above my head […]