Salud!

In trying to get the college students in my remedial English classes to understand pronoun "voice," I'd point out that the first person voice is the one most important to everyone: me, myself, and I. Next important is the second person: you (or the archaic, but descriptive thee... with whom I am most familiar). At the bottom of the totem pole is the third person: they and them (can you hear the curl of the lip?).

There are of course some economic and political corollaries here: foremost for me is good for me, second good for thee, and after that good for her or him or them...way over there. It is human nature to seek our own good first of all. Of course that's selfish, so in our better moments we strive to be altruistic, and that's when we mess up.

We err because, as economic guru Thomas Sowell explains so logically: everything is connected to everything else (even ice cream and catchers' mitts), so "it makes no sense to declare some given goal a 'good thing,' without regard to the [economic] repercussions, which spread out in all directions..." His example is the "good" of home ownership, which brought about the [bad] financial repercussions, including job losses, we suffer today.

Repercussions are something to think about now that the Obama administration has declared health insurance for all Americans a "good." The administration claims its interference in 17 or so percent of our economy can be done painlessly...without increasing the tax burden of average, middle class Americans a dime or reducing existing coverage or hampering medical innovation  or souring doctor/patient relationships or increasing the national debt... or falling victim to any of the multiple dislocations suffered by any of the existing national health plans in other nations. These claims are incredible.

But the political corollary may well be that national health care is a political boon for Democrat politicians...perhaps lasting just long enough for Obama to maintain his current (somewhat depressed) popularity and even to insure his reelection in 2012  before the full catastrophe becomes apparent to the least informed citizen. In that case, our only hope may be to drink to our health.

New Math and the Pig in a Poke

The Wall Street Journal reports with a touch of cynicism today that "new math" boosts the Democrat health care plan. According to the Journal, "The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office found the sweeping measure will cover 94% of nonelderly legal U.S. residents, up from about 83% currently. The bill will cut the deficit by $81 billion over the 10-year period, owing to trims in Medicare spending and new taxes."


To parse this, begin with "legal" U.S. residents and ask if there will  be a provision to demand proof of legal status (House Democrats have already vetoes this) and question if there will be an amnesty expanding the number of "legal" residents and thus jacking up costs significantly. Move on to "trims" in Medicare spending and insert "cuts" in programs (i.e. Medicare Advantage) that will effectively ration services to the elderly, and then don't forget to stumble to a stop on "new taxes." New taxis will affect everyone (young and old) even if masked as taxes on health insurance providers because these will be passed on to those insured (and those soon to be required by law to be insured). This burden will be far from insignificant, and those expecting to get something for nothing will be grievously disappointed. Obama promises pie in the sky...and that's where it will remain.


Remember that Medicare costs expanded 90% above original estimates...and you can see where "health reform" is heading. And don't fail to note that the Democrat "plan" is not yet a plan; it's a conceptual outline from the Senate Finance Committee to which the House and Senate will add billions more on the floor and in conference (for example, three versions of reform in the House exceed a trillion dollars in cost). What is most likely to emerge is the perennial pig in a poke. Oink! Oink!