OutloudOpinion » care

How Cities Can Take Care of Businesses 3.18.10

Anthony Randazzo — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 15:29:16 +0000

The Internet and globalization have both made it possible to operate a business from virtually anywhere and still serve a wide range of customers. Most firms no longer need to be located in downtowns or large financial districts. This flexibility has made it easier than ever for businesses to leave cities that have an unfavorable tax and regulatory climate. American cities in decline are largely victims of their own failure to take a fresh look at how the economy continuously repositions itself in an information-driven, globally competitive world market, and respond with policies that encourage entrepreneurial investment, private sector growth, and local consumption of goods, services, and housing.

From OutloudOpinion – For Podcasts of IBDeditorials, The New Republic, and Over 30 Syndicated Columnists, go to www.outloudopinion.com

Why Democrats Don’t Care about $9.7 Trillion Debt 3.8.10

Dennis Prager — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 03:02:42 +0000

As reported by The Washington Post, “President Obama’s proposed budget would add more than $9.7 trillion to the national debt over the next decade, congressional budget analysts said Friday.”
CNN adds, “Of that amount, an estimated $5.6 trillion will be in interest alone.”
The Post continues: “The CBO (Congressional Budget Office) and the White House (are) … both predicting a deficit of about $1.5 trillion this year — a post-World War II record at 10.3 percent of the overall economy. But the CBO is considerably less optimistic about future years, predicting that deficits would never fall below 4 percent of the economy under Obama’s policies and would begin to grow rapidly after 2015.

From OutloudOpinion – For Podcasts of IBDeditorials, The New Republic, and Over 30 Syndicated Columnists, go to www.outloudopinion.com

Is Health Care a Right? 3.8.10

Walter Williams — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 02:39:51 +0000

Most politicians, and probably most Americans, see health care as a right. Thus, whether a person has the means to pay for medical services or not, he is nonetheless entitled to them. Let’s ask ourselves a few questions about this vision.
Say a person, let’s call him Harry, suffers from diabetes and he has no means to pay a laboratory for blood work, a doctor for treatment and a pharmacy for medication. Does Harry have a right to XYZ lab’s and Dr. Jones’ services and a prescription from a pharmacist? And, if those services are not provided without charge, should Harry be able to call for criminal sanctions against those persons for violating his rights to health care?

From OutloudOpinion – For Podcasts of IBDeditorials, The New Republic, and Over 30 Syndicated Columnists, go to www.outloudopinion.com

Obama Bribes, Threatens, and Rewards Congress to Pass Health Care 3.5.10

Dick Morris — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 15:46:06 +0000

All aspects of President Obama’s Chicago-style tactics are on display as he cajoles, bullies and bribes the House to pass his health care proposals despite the overwhelming public rejection with which they have been met.

To some, he offers bribes. Rep. Jim Matheson, endangered species — a Utah Democrat — succeeded in getting his brother Scott appointed to a federal judgeship. Matheson voted against Obamacare when it first passed the House. With his new-found winnings in his pocket, he now professes to be undecided. He faces a clear conflict between his district and his conscience on the one hand and the bribe to his brother on the other. The conscience will probably lose.

From OutloudOpinion – For Podcasts of IBDeditorials, The New Republic, and Over 30 Syndicated Columnists, go to www.outloudopinion.com

Obama to appeal to public on health care

Julie Pace ASSOCIATED PRESS — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 15:06:42 +0000

With the fate of his signature legislative initiative far from certain, President Obama is taking his last-ditch push for U.S. health care overhaul on the road. In a speech Monday in Philadelphia, Mr. Obama will try to persuade the public to back his plan to remake the U.S. health care system, while also urging uneasy lawmakers to cast a “final vote” for the massive legislation in an election year. Mr. Obama’s pitch in Philadelphia, along with a stop in St. Louis on Wednesday, comes as the president begins an all-out effort to pass his health care proposals. Though his plan …

Sink or Swim The GOP’s Dickensian fix for health care. 3.4.10

Jonathan Chait — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 16:02:38 +0000

When you consider the differences between Democrats and Republicans on health care, you probably think in terms of scale. Democrats want to enact a big reform, while Republicans favor incremental progress. House Minority Whip Eric Cantor coos, “We want to take a much more commonsense, modest, incremental approach, trying to address the first issue first, which is cost, and then go on to try to deal with some of the things that the president and Speaker Pelosi want to do.” Within a recent six-month span, Republicans on the Senate floor used the phrase “step-by-step” to describe their approach to health care an astonishing 173 times.

by OutloudOpinion

Obama lobbies wavering Democrats on health care

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 10:00:10 +0000

President Obama and top Democrats set out Thursday to thwart defections and solidify support for their health care overhaul bill, focusing on skeptical rank-and-file House Democrats antsy about voting for the unpopular measure and then having to fend off Republican attacks in the midterm elections. A dozen House Democrats who supported the bill in the House said they’ll vote against Mr. Obama’s plan unless strong abortion restrictions are inserted. Others question whether the Senate bill, the basis of the president’s plan, will do enough to stem rising health care costs or address regional disparities on Medicare rates. Nearly 20 House …

The Public Isn’t Enthused About Health Care Reform. So What? 3.3.10

William Galston — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 17:29:05 +0000

“With the passage of time,” former Bush administration official Pete Wehner writes today, “President Bush’s decision to champion a new counterinsurgency strategy, including sending 30,000 additional troops to Iraq when most Americans were bone-weary of the war, will be seen as one of the most impressive and important acts of political courage in our lifetime.” Wehner may turn out to be right. And his argument has broader implications that deserve our attention.

Wehner tacitly defines political courage as the willingness to go against public opinion in pursuit of what a leader believes to be the public interest. Fair enough. And unless one believes—against all evidence—that democracies can do without courage, so defined, it follows that there’s nothing necessarily undemocratic about defying public opinion when the stakes are high. After all, the people will soon have the opportunity to pass judgment on the leader’s decision. And they will be able to judge that decision, not by the claims of its supporters or detractors, but by its results.

by OutloudOpinion

Obama throws down gauntlet on health care

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 10:00:10 +0000

President Obama declared the health care debate over on Wednesday and urged congressional Democrats to take the politically risky step of pushing his newly written compromise reform bill through using a controversial tactic to circumvent a Republican filibuster. Calling for an “up-or-down” vote, Mr. Obama offered to add a few Republican ideas to the $1 trillion bill, but made clear that the time for talk was over. “Every idea has been put on the table; every argument has been made,” Mr. Obama said in a speech before an audience of health care professionals in the East Room of the White …

Health care bill rekindles abortion battle

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 10:00:09 +0000

The abortion battle that riddled the health care overhaul debate is finding new life amid a once-overlooked provision to fund community health care centers. Pro-life advocates say the Democrats’ health care bill would send millions of dollars to community health care centers without restrictions to keep the money from being used to fund abortions, potentially expanding access to the procedure. House members are being lobbied to oppose the bill because of the funding and because of concern that federal money would cover abortion-inclusive insurance plans. It adds a new wrinkle to the already complicated process Democrats are undertaking to get …