Shikha Dalmia on President Obama’s speech Wednesday as an image at least as colorful as the outburst of Rep. Joe Wilson (R-South Carolina):
For several months now, the American people–as if exhorted by the ghost of William F. Buckley (no particular hero of mine)–have been standing athwart the Democratic agenda of socialized medicine, yelling, “Stop!” But President Barack Obama showed them the policy equivalent of the middle finger Wednesday night.
What’s in the only piece of legislation that has been passed by the House of Representatives? A physician takes a look.
Cross-posted from State House Call.
In this audio clip, Rep. Mike Pence (R-Indiana) speaks with KMOX about alternative proposals on health care reform. I wish he and some of his colleagues had had the opportunity to wave those papers that he talks about in the clip. It would have made for good theater and perhaps gotten across an important point that the alternative to ObamaCare is not limited to “do nothing.”
The Michigan Economic Development Corp., state Legislature, governor and other supporters of government “jobs” programs have adopted an almost pop-culture idolatry for all things environmental by showering taxpayer subsidies upon corporations claiming to bring purportedly “earth friendly” products to market. It has a shiny, new green paint job, but in fact this is just the latest in a long line of failed state economic development program fads.
Gov. Jennifer Granholm has gone public with a laundry list of proposed tax hikes and “loophole closings.” It's a "death by a thousand cuts" strategy, which most items extracting relatively small amounts, or targeted at politically powerless populations like smokers. Unfortunately, these little injuries add up to a lot of blood drained from Michigan's already ailing economy.
Want government intervention in health insurance? We’ve already got it. Here’s the latest example: Michigan may (again) tell insurance customers what their policy must contain. It would also ride roughshod over the moral objections of pharmacists.
Cross-posted from State House Call.
National Public Radio sent someone out to survey the scene at a few parties where people were gathering to listen to President Obama’s speech last night. The online comments are filled with the usual, including those who favor a greater role for government calling those who oppose it selfish, uncaring Randians who don’t look out for anyone else, etc.
The newspapers are filled not only with stories about President Obama’s latest speech on health care, but on swine flu cases — Connecticut, Delaware, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee and Texas.
To be sure, some people have died from the swine flu (mentioned in a few of the stories linked to above). But many, many more people die from heart disease, cancer and stroke. Even influenza and pneumonia, a category that takes in much more than simply swine flu, claims just 10 percent of the number of people who die from heart disease.
Will an employer mandate help business productivity? Wishful thinking, says The Heritage Foundation’s D. Mark Wilson, who explains the several effects of employer mandates on both employers and employees.
Cross-posted from State House Call.
Is there wasteful spending in health care in the U.S.? Sure. Here’s Michael F. Cannon on the subject:
Cross-posted from State House Call.
From BusinessWeek:
Where are health care costs rising the fastest? Hint: It’s not in the U.S.
Cross-posted from State House Call.
While President Obama focused on those who have slipped through the cracks in America’s health care system last night, the National Center for Public Policy Research is reminding us that countries with greater government involvement in health care have their own, often worse, stories of access to life-saving medicine delayed or denied. They’ve released 100 such stories (PDF) from around the world.
The Cato Institute’s Michael D. Tanner has analyzed the key health care proposals being discussed in Congress and finds them all lacking.
From a blurb on his new study: “Americans will pay more and get less. Whatever the variation, however these bills are merged or compromised, this would be bad news for Americans.”
Here are a few reactions to President Obama’s speech last night that I’ve noticed this morning.
Larry Sabato, one of the country’s most respected academic observers of politics, said on his Twitter feed: “The era of bipartisanship, a mirage first seen in January, is over. You could cut the polarization in the House chamber with a knife.”
President Obama’s much-anticipated health care address last night fell short of the groundbreaking proposals one might have expected from the hype.
The president has firmed up support for a few ideas — individual and employer mandates that force people to enroll themselves, or their employees, in an insurance plan, and asserted his support for a government-run insurance company (though he didn’t call the “public option” a dealbreaker). He also reminded Americans that he supports choice and competition, even though the insurance mandates he’s set on seem to be opposed to both.
If you’re going to watch the president’s speech to Congress on health care tonight (8pm Eastern), you can follow the reactions of Cato Institute experts Michael F. Cannon and Michael D. Tanner on the Cato web site and on Twitter. See Cato-at-Liberty for details.
Here’s another reminder of why we need to make health care and health insurance cheaper: Arizona, facing a budget shortfall, will drop 10,000 people from one of its insurance programs.
To show you how bizarre public policy makes health care, these people are adults who are enrolled in a program for … children.
Here’s a pretty good, short description of what our laws have done to health care:
On the other, we enact regulations and restrictions to keep driving the private insurance system off a cliff.
As they say, read the whole thing, from Holman Jenkins in today’s Wall Street Journal. It’s insightful and short.
Alabama will soon make more children dependent on politics for their health insurance, and perhaps devastate the private insurance market for everyone else in the process.
According to the Birmingham News, “All Kids” will be able to enroll about 14,000 more children starting October 1, thanks to looser eligibility requirements. Right now, the program is limited to families with an income of two times the federal poverty level. It will go up to three times, so the number for a family of four will be $66,156. By contrast, the median household income in the state is under $41,000.
Greg Main, president of the Michigan Economic Development Corp., told a Grand Rapids Press columnist that he agrees with Michael LaFaive, the Mackinac Center's fiscal policy director, that the MEDC should be more transparent.
The columnist detailed a recent study by LaFaive and James Hohman, fiscal policy analyst, that tracks the failure of the MEDC and its many programs, including the Michigan Economic Growth Authority and the Michigan Film Office. A portion of the study points out the growing lack of transparency the MEDC has exhibited in the face of growing state unemployment, as well as the revelation that less than 30 percent of "new" jobs promised by the agency have come to fruition.
Living in a thinly populated area has its advantages but also some disadvantages — such as not having a doctor within 40 miles.
The Austin American-Statesman puts some numbers on something I’ve read of before, which is the fact that some Texas counties don’t have a resident doctor. How many? Try 27.
With two senators and a population of just 641,000, North Dakota is one of those states with an outsized influence on health care policy at the federal level. The North Dakota Policy Council will host a public meeting on health care policy, current proposals and patient-friendly alternatives. This video gives the pitch.
Something about this just doesn’t seem right: The South Carolina Department of Education and Subway restaurants are teaming up in an anti-childhood-obesity effort.
Subway, the official fast-food restaurant of public schools?
Cross-posted from State House Call.
If we hand more responsibility for health care to government, will it deliver? It’s one thing for the state or national government to give everyone a health insurance card, and another one entirely for people to actually get access to treatment.
That’s because in their attempt to keep some semblance of financial discipline, officials take several measures, including lowballing private physicians and other providers. Recently Delaware and Walgreens got into a dispute over that state’s attempts to cut its payments for medications.
As communications manager for the Property Rights Network, it never ceases to amaze me that Michigan residents possess an intuitive knowledge of property rights that seemingly eludes state policymakers.
A recent stop at a Kalkaska watering hole for a drink and a cigar proved no exception. Civility mandates that a cigar smoker receive permission from other patrons before lighting up. The affirmative reaction to my request was unanimous, and prompted an interesting conversation among the bar’s owner, employees, and guests. Comments ranged from “If people don’t like smoke, they should avoid places where it’s allowed” to “I’m sick of government telling me what I can and can’t do.”
