The Health Care Monster Returns
Even Republicans acknowledge its ravages, but what’s the best way to slay the beast? By David Moberg
Coming Soon |
|
Like the creature from the Black Lagoon, the health insurance monster has returned, creeping back onto the public stage. After President Clinton's jury-rigged pen to contain the monster collapsed in 1994, it never really went away. Political leaders tried to ignore the beast or deal piecemeal with its ravages, but it pushed more unsuspecting civilians into the uninsured pit, devoured more family budgets, squeezed even giant corporations' ability to compete globally, and raised fear and insecurity among the populace.
Now its depredations have become too loathsome to ignore for even cautious politicians and business executives -- who still are inclined to see the monster as one of their own. After a rebuff in the fall elections, when voters ranked health care as one of their top concerns, President Bush offered a plan that almost certainly would not deliver his promise of "quality, affordable health care for all Americans." Read more >>>
The Administration Goes For Broke By Hans Johnson
It has become conservatives' equivalent of handshakes at a union hall. Professing aversion to government and venom toward taxes before the right-wing rank-and-file is a set piece of Republican presidential primaries. Though a gimmick, the anti-tax, anti-government message resonates with donors and diehard GOP voters and has become a badge of the seriousness, even suitability, of the party's presidential aspirants. Read more >>>
Counterinsurgency 101 By Kristian Williams
A soldier in Baghdad, in town for the "surge" and wondering whether things really are as bad as they seem, might want to read FM 3-24, the U.S. military's Counterinsurgency Field Manual, released last December. On Page 1-29, our soldier will find a handy table -- "Successful and unsuccessful counterinsurgency operational practices" -- that outlines the Dos and the Don'ts. Read more >>>
|
Click here to email this newsletter to a friend: Contact
In These Times |
