Ahh, the infamous strawman. Take one aspect of an argument, assume it is not part of a cohesive whole, and argue against it as if it negates everything else at hand. I.e. libertarians and conservatives argue that capping drug prices just MIGHT reduce drug innovation, and Ezra Klein acts as if we’d keep everything else [...]

Obama says that he won’t sign a healthcare bill that adds one dime to the deficit. I hope he’s right about that, because the people who are financing that deficit are a tad bit worried about the prospect: And yet, there was budget director Peter Orszag rushing to a lunch with Chinese bureaucrats on a [...]

The Senate Finance Committee is finishing up work this week on a “compromise” Obamacare bill that’s being billed as better than pure Obamacare because it doesn’t include “death panels”, a public option, and free healthcare for illegal aliens. The chairman of the Senate Finance Committee said Monday that he will propose an overhaul of the [...]

Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of drunkenness? Well now that you put it that way…

In addition to my own take, there are two other takes on the speech I’d like to highlight as being dead on. The first is from Cato@Liberty, which offers us a look at Obama’s speech in plain English: Translation: I, Barack Obama, ignoring thousands of years of failed price-control schemes, will impose price controls on [...]

Tonight’s speech on health care was a doubling down on the part of the administration. All the bad policy, all the economic voodoo, and all the flat out repression remain in the President’s platform. So does all the newspeak: Since health care represents one-sixth of our economy, I believe it makes more sense to build [...]

From my cousin: No one should die because they cannot afford health care, no one should go broke because they get sick, and no one should be denied insurance because of pre-existing conditions. (But I also believe that everyone is entitled to their opinions especially from personal experience. And I won’t urge you repost this [...]

The “Ambulance Commercial” from AARP claims that the “special interest groups” are “trying to derail” the healthcare debate. Those who oppose “reform” are “spreading myths” about rationing of care. In case you’ve missed it, here’s the ad: One of the things that really makes me angry about this debate is the way groups like AARP, [...]

Hmm, I guess we can see once again that our Congress is not in any way trying to manage our car companies (and their unions) for political gain: The latest example is the $10 billion taxpayers will be asked to shell out to prop up the United Auto Workers’ retiree health insurance program. That provision [...]

Well, that didn’t take long at all: US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi vowed Wednesday to push through embattled health reform legislation this year following the death of Senator Ted Kennedy, who called the effort “the cause of my life”. “Ted Kennedy?s dream of quality health care for all Americans will be made real this year [...]

This must be why we need reform: Americans are living about two months longer, with the U.S. life expectancy reaching a record 77.9 years, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports. During the past decade, life expectancy has increased 1½ years. Death rates are down for major killers, including heart disease, cancer and HIV. [...]

In the health care debate, the question has somewhat changed within the Democratic party from “what do we want?” to “what can we actually pass?” Because they’re relatively sure there’ll be no help from Republicans, this puts them in an awkward spot, and as Bruce of QandO points out, highlights a point showing how all [...]

Radley Balko wrote a post explaining why the boycott of Whole Foods, a company that does everything the left wants employers to do for their employees and community, was moronic. He was linked by a few higher-profile lefty sites, and attracted some pretty hardcore vitriol. So he responded. Or, more accurately, he reached out through [...]

One of Obama’s campaign promises was to stop federal raids on medical marijuana dispensaries which were allowed by state law. Many pundits (myself included) have been lambasting him for not living up to that promise based upon stories like these: Police raids on medical marijuana dispensaries continue–and continue with federal help, despite an Obama promise [...]

For decades the cost of medical care has risen relative to prices in general and relative to people’s incomes. Today [1994] a semi-private hospital room typically costs $1,000 to $1,500 per day, exclusive of all medical procedures, such as X-rays, surgery, or even a visit by one’s physician. Basic room charges of $500 per day [...]

Obama is not a dumb man. He understands that government provisioning generally produces a worse service than private organizations which are dependent on people choosing to patronize them. Here he is pointing out that while Fedex is required by law to charge higher prices than the Post Office for equivalent services, it is the Post [...]

In what I can only call an extraordinarily disturbing Op-Ed in today’s USA Today, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Maryland Congressman Steny Hoyer leveled an attack against those who are protesting the Democrats’ efforts to “reform” the health care system: However, it is now evident that an ugly campaign is underway not merely [...]

…you better be prepared to hear opinions which don’t necessarily support the Democrats proposed government takeover of healthcare. The speaker at this meeting (in the video below) made the mistake of saying “I think we can all agree…”. From there, the AARP members took over. Really brings a smile to your face huh? Hat Tip: [...]

Chalk this one up to the sloppy language and anthropomorphism. Marc Ambinder is responding to points Megan McArdle made about obesity, and he takes a few steps too far (via Democracy in America): If you tend to blame individuals for their choices, then your answer will be no. But the crucial fact is that obesity [...]

Satisfaction levels of Medicare beneficiaries are pretty high. This surprises Kevin Drum: There’s a pretty obvious political dynamic that’s responsible for this. Seniors, who actually use Medicare, know perfectly well that it’s a good program. They can see any doctor they want, they get care when they need it, and the quality of service is [...]