“People often compare his plan to the Massachusetts plan,’’ Romney said in an interview last month. “They’re as different as night and day. There are some words that sound the same, but our plan is based on states solving our issues; his is based on a one-size-fits-all plan.’’
In the last week, many health care policy specialists, Democrats celebrating the bill’s passage, and Republicans condemning it have come to another conclusion. The difference between the two systems, they say, is slim.
“Basically, it’s the same thing,’’ said Jonathan Gruber, an MIT economist who advised the Romney and Obama administrations on their health insurance programs. A national health overhaul would not have happened if Mitt Romney had not made “the decision in 2005 to go for it. He is in many ways the intellectual father of national health reform.’’
This report is an improvement over past reports, but it is not a sign of a robust return to full employment. Instead, this signals a very long, gradual, drawn out recovery process. The labor market could use more help, and with the slow pace of the recovery it is not too late, but the political winds are blowing against any action from Congress to help with job creation. Thus, it appears we are stuck for the time being with the unemployment rate moving sideways, with job growth barely keeping up with the growth in the labor force, and all of our hopes to do better pinned to hope for increased job growth in the private sector. Unfortunately, for now it is just that — a hope — as there are not yet any signs that accelerated job growth is just around the corner. There is more hope than before, and it does appear we are beginning to turn the corner, but we aren’t there yet and it’s an open question as to how long it will take to for labor markets to fully recover. My expectation is that job growth will be frustratingly slow, but just positive enough to keep our hopes alive.
Public health estimates in Marx's Capital
Long stretches of Marx's Capital take the form of an effort at developing and defending an economic model of capitalism, based on the theories of value and surplus value. But there are also recurring efforts at providing a descriptive sociology of capitalism: the forms of day-to-day life that British economic relations imposed upon the working class. This dimension of the book is descriptive and detailed; it has much in common with Engels's approach in The Condition of the Working Class in England
Marx was very interested in these descriptive investigations -- Dr. Simon, Dr. Julian Hunter, Mr. Smith, Dr. Bell, and the inquiries and Acts of Parliament in the 1860s that shed light on the depth of English poverty. The index for Capital includes a section, "Parliamentary Reports and Other Official Publications," which includes references to over a hundred reports on factories, poverty, nutrition, and health. These range from a Report of Select Committee, London, 1855, on "Adulteration of Bread", to "Reports of the Medical Officer of the Privy Council on Public Health" (1861-66). And these reports constitute the core of empirical evidence that Marx brings to bear for his economic assertions throughout the work. In fact, we might describe some parts of Capital as a sort of "meta-study" of current investigations of the public health status of England's cities..
Last Sunday, I had a night off in Montreal and watched the Healthcare Reform Bill pass. That was an interesting night of television to be sure. My favorite, John Boehner from the great state of Ohio was on the floor, acting out in his best junior thespian style. Knowing that he was not going to get his way was very satisfying to me. I am used to losing so it was a great night for me and while some will not agree, a good night for the country.
The last week has been turbulent in America. There are some very angry people out there, letting their voices be heard. The anger, while genuine seems rather unfocused and crazed. Not all Americans handle change all that well. If you look at your recent American history, you will see that even a few decades ago, the passing of the Civil Rights Act in 1964 was met with very loud and sometimes violent resistance. I think America is going to have to go through some of that again. I hope no one gets killed.
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