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11/23/2010
Shown: WI liberal bloggers are off their game

I'd put Wisconsin political bloggers up against those from just about anywhere else, and that includes those on the left side of the aisle. But a couple of recent posts have me wondering if our more liberal friends aren't still struggling for words following the GOP election victories.

First there's Chris Liebenthal (Capper) in a post with a title that is a nod to the most interesting, if not most successful candidate for NY governor. Aside from the title though, there's little that enlightens or informs. Liebenthal argues:

And not only is the [sic] health care costs pounding us as individuals, they are a primary cause for the economy going down and staying down as the government has to deal with the coverage gaps for the poor, the elderly and the disabled.

.... No coincidentally, these skyrocketing costs started about the same time there was massive deregulation. The original health care reform would have gone a long way to resolve the issues leading to this pattern of gouging, but it was, as with the stimulus, cut at the knees and bastardized so the reform can't do as it was intended.

Well, no. Medicare is not designed to deal with coverage gaps for the elderly. It is the primary form of health coverage for the elderly. I agree that health care costs are a primary driver of the drastic long term budget picture for this country, particularly as they relate to Medicare. Therefore, when Liebenthal argues the original health reform was superior, I can only hope he doesn't mean Medicare-for-all. If so, someone will have to explain to me how the best way to contain health care costs is adding more people to a program with a proven track record of not being able to contain costs.

As far as blaming deregulation goes, this strikes me as more boilerplate than substantial analysis. But at the risk of saying something Liebenthal might agree with, I don't think that over-regulation has been the primary reason for the expansion of health care spending in this country. It's possible this could change once Obamacare goes through the regulatory sausage factory that has come to embody our federal governance, but that will be a future development, not a cause of the current state of affairs.

The second post was from Zach Wisniewski at Blogging Blue arguing that because Ron Johnson opposed the health reform, he should not accept the health plan extended to him as a member of the U.S. Senate. I guess to someone who hasn't really thought about the way we get health insurance in this country this sounds like a good point, but the majority of Americans still get their health insurance through their employer. When President Obama and the Democrats in congress had the opportunity to reform health care they didn't end this practice, at least not on purpose, so they must think it's a good way to get insurance. If so, why then wouldn't Johnson accept the insurance that is part of his Senate compensation? Yes, it a government plan, but in this case the relevant characteristic is that it is insurance tied to employment.

If our friends on the left really think people ought to be able to refuse health coverage on principle, they might want to start working on their friend of the court briefs. The individual mandate to purchase insurance was part of the reform that became law, remember?

With a Scott Walker administration and a GOP legislature, both of these guys will have plenty of fodder for their blogs – and will likely hit some home runs. Until then though, you may want to take small bites as you sample the left side of the cheddarsphere.

Jeremy Shown blogs at Rhymes with Clown and frequently hits on politics and economics in Wisconsin and the U.S.

COMMENTS

Surely if you don't understand the advantages of Medicare-for-all, I would expect concerns. But 65% of Americans (and 59% of physicians) support it, and that's the reason ObamaCare has so many negative supporters. The bottom line is that we could extend health care to 100% of Americans and SAVE $400 billion per year. We'd transfer much of the 31% of administrative waste to providing health care instead, but we'd pay for it with taxes rather than employer premiums.

But we have naysayers on the Right who oppose government involvement in anything, even though Medicare-for-all is 95% private doctors and hospitals. And we have the insurance executives that like their $10 million salaries and want to stay in the lucrative loop.

In time the first group will come to the realization that Medicare-for-all makes the most sense; the latter group will never give up. And they'll keep giving their $125 million in campaign contributions to politicians to stay in our pockets. And the Medicare-for-all opponents will blissfully think they are winning the war all while their pockets are being picked.

For those who are really wondering what it is and why it is the smartest thing for us to do, please refer to Medicare-for-all. For all others just keep sending your money. They love it!

"America will always do the right thing, but only after everything else fails." Winston Churchill

Jack Lohman (Tue Nov 23 08:33:10 2010)

Jack,

It's news like this, that Obama will extend bonus payments to even average Medicare Advantage plans that makes me skeptical of Medicare for All as a cost containment measure.

http://theincidentaleconomist.com/wordpress/news-flash-government-meddles-with-medicare-plan-payments/

Jeremy (Tue Nov 23 20:08:31 2010)

I'm not surprised, Jeremy, that's what campaign cash will buy you. But Medicare Advantage is the poster child for why private is not always cheaper than public. In this case -- as despicable as it is -- it's not what is draining the system. Private insurance is, and it would be worth it to the nation to turn its eyes on this small shenanigan IF we could end up with Medicare-for-all. (But the federal politicians are too in-the-pocket of the insurers to permit that. THAT is where your ire should be.)

Jack Lohman (Tue Nov 23 23:03:21 2010)

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