If only this were a USM or Mississippi problem. It isn't. Employer-provided health premiums are increasing across the nation, especially so for state employees. Just this week Paul Krugman--the Princeton economist and NY Times columnist--has been focusing on the problems of private, employer-provided health insurance.
Why the voters haven't made this an issues is a mystery to me.
Originally posted by: qwerty "...Why the voters haven't made this an issues is a mystery to me. "
It's a measure of the triumph of market ideology and the hegemony of anti-tax, anti-government "starve the beast" politics. Look at Bush's slash-and-burn domestic budget. Look at Barbour's refusal to raise taxes in any form, despite devastating consequences for education and indigent health care. I suspect that a popular reaction point is not too far down the road, however. Bush's popularity has suffered a stone's drop since the election, and forces committed to turning out Barbour are growing daily.
quote: Originally posted by: qwerty Just this week Paul Krugman--the Princeton economist and NY Times columnist--has been focusing on the problems of private, employer-provided health insurance. Why the voters haven't made this an issues is a mystery to me.
qwerty, et al.,
i will not involve myself in a health care debate. however for those that read the ny times, one small point to keep in mind in the future. economists are now like doctors, they specialize. krugman was once a brilliant INTERNATIONAL economist whose professional reputation is slipping rapidly as he pontificates on areas in which he has little expertise. even worse he is letting his politics take a back seat to his economics. for economists this is a sad spectacle. i won't criticize without offering options. the best, most balanced (really balanced, not like fox news) is Robert Samuelson's every other week column in newsweek. for the intelligent layman he is doing the best work on economic issues in the country. don't take my word for it, he's run out of prizes to win for economic journalism. he's just a BA economics from harvard but just another example of not having to have a pile of degrees to be good.