More Disturbing Insights About Health Care Reform from a Liberal Economist

Way back in November 2009 I posted an item on this blog about John Cassidy of The New Yorker who, though he was (is) a supporter of health care reform, as an economist, still felt obligated to discuss the bill in terms of dollars and sense...I mean, cents. I re-read his original posting today and was astounded at his prescience. Two of his more startling comments then were:

• Some "subterfuge may be necessary" to enact "great reform."
• The Obama Administration is creating a new entitlement program which, if enacted, "will be virtually impossible to rescind."

OK, so here it is April 2010, "ObamaCare" passed, it's been signed, it's law, it's done, fait accompli...and I'm curious. What's John Cassidy saying five months later? Is he still examining the issue from the standpoint of an economist?

Indeed he is. Below are links to his blog, "Rational Irrationality," where he crunches the numbers again, and his conclusions are much the same.

What's interesting to me is that, in spite of analysis by experts like Cassidy and Capretta,  Democrats continue to spout the now-debunked spin that "these pieces of legislation will reduce the deficit by $143 billion over the first ten years and by as much as $1.3 trillion over the second 10 years." By the way, this is an exact quote from Senator Dianne Feinstein, who parroted it in a reply to an email I sent to her (just doing my civic duty, writing my elected officials).

Interesting reading.

ObamaCare by the Numbers, Part I

ObamaCare by the Numbers, Part II

How to Finance Barack Obama's New Entitlement Program

Why are voices like these ignored when it comes to policy decision-making?

"Tax Collecting for Obama's Welfare State," by James C. Capretta (see bio below).

Here's a key quote: "The chutzpah here is something to behold. Having passed the largest entitlement expansion in half a century, in the most partisan manner imaginable, the president now wants Republicans to provide political cover to Democrats as they search for ways to finance the welfare state of their dreams."

Capretta bio:

James C. Capretta, a Fellow in the Economics and Ethics Program at the Ethics and Public Policy Center (EPPC), was an Associate Director at the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) from 2001 to 2004, where he was the top budget official for health-care, Social Security, education, and welfare programs.

At EPPC, Mr. Capretta studies and provides commentary on a wide range of public policy and economic issues, with a focus on health-care and entitlement reform, U.S. fiscal policy, and global population aging. 

In addition to his work as a researcher and commentator on public policy issues, Mr. Capretta is also a health policy and research consultant with Civic Enterprises, LLC and an Adjunct Fellow with the Global Aging Initiative of the Center for Strategic and International Studies and with Hudson Institute.

Earlier in his career, Mr. Capretta served for a decade in Congress as a senior analyst for health-care issues and for three years as a budget examiner at OMB. He has an MA in Public Policy Studies from Duke University, and he graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1985 with a BA in Government.

Frog in my Throat?

Anyone paying attention to this blog might notice that I haven't bothered to post anything for a few months. I regret this. Perhaps I'm not "all that into" this whole blogging thing. Perhaps I'm aware of the futility of trying to make a difference. There was a time I cared enough to craft essays, search for a place to publish, wait in anxiety to hear if my work had been "accepted," then wait some more to see it appear in print, then wait (often in vain) for comment or feedback. Those were the days before blogging, or at least, the days before the ubiquity of blogging. Eventually I stopped sending out articles, especially articles that attempted to comment on social or political issues, focusing instead on matters pertaining to family, children, and faith. Eventually these, too, fizzled out as I began teaching, and as my kids got older and life got busier. I see this diminishing of my writing efforts as losing my voice, getting hoarse...

Originally, this blog was my attempt to "clear my throat," so to speak. It evolved during the lead-up to the 2008 election. I found myself daily pestering people on my email mailing list, sending articles, ranting, raving. I guess I thought my little rants would make a difference.

I'm not sure anything makes a difference. Even if I believe the things I do, and even if I try to articulate them, what difference does it make? 

I think I'm depressed and discouraged.There's no scandal too big, no setback too daunting, that Barack Obama somehow can't manage to turn into an asset. The guy's a magician. I don't mean this as a compliment. I don't trust him. He's dishonest, disingenuous, duplicitous. He doesn't play by the rules, at least, not by the rules I respect. I guess he has his own set of rules, ends-justifying-the-means type of rules.

No doubt "the other side" says the same about Republicans. Oh well. Politics is a game where people make up the rules as they go along and in the end everyone loses.

Anyway, today's the day I'm starting up again after three months of silence. Clearing the old froggy throat.

Ahem!