Paul Krugman's column today brings to light an article published for the American Academy of Actuaries by John McCain. Here's the paragraph Krugman highlights:
Opening up the health insurance market to more vigorous nationwide competition, as we have done over the last decade in banking, would provide more choices of innovative products less burdened by the worst excesses of state-based regulation.
It is a dreadful thing what McCain would like to with healthcare because he wants to take away one of the few things that works for middle class people, the tax advantage of paying for healthcare premiums.
It’s not correct to say that healthcare would be provided by the government. Do you know any federal employees? Why not have the structure they have for healthcare? They don’t go to government clinics, believe me.
When the last attempt at a major healthcare reform went down, the critics railed against losing their choices in healthcare to the government. I don’t know about you, but my healthcare choices have limited a great deal since the 1990s by the insurance companies. The Obama plan does not have the government provide healthcare. It makes goverment a visible hand in providing a basic human need--where the invisible hand sometimes fails to deliver.
If there is regulation, at least it should be done by entities designed to work in the public interest.
How about electing an honest, accountable government that understands the concept of public interest?
The government that governs well may be much better than the governement the governs least.
2 comments:
Use of the emergency room in lieu of healthcare insurance sounds like a good metaphor for what is happening to our economy. It, is in the emergency room on life support because, for the last thirty or so years the neocons have been picking away at the preventive medicine of governmental regulation. I hope that we don’t have to have another collapse like 1929 for people to realize that it is time to start the pendulant swinging back toward good government. Come November we should elect someone who has the temperament and experience needed to organize a government administration that will make that reversal happen.
Organizing a campaign and selecting a running mate are good tests of a candidates ability.
And if they're hungry they can always eat cake.
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