A Selection Of Opinions And Editorials
Why The Cheers? The Washington PostThe House bill, which emerged to effusive praise from President Obama this week, falls short on two out of three counts (7/17).
Battle Will Be Fought Over Who Pays The Salt Lake Tribune
The [House] bill is a Rube Goldberg contraption, the inevitable result of an attempt to build on an employer-based system that is failing (7/16).
The Grassley Test Wall Street Journal
Forget Max Baucus, Henry Waxman and Rahm Emanuel. If there's one guy who may hold the whole health-care world in his hands, it's Sen. Chuck Grassley. That ought to have President Barack Obama worried (Strassel, 7/17).
How Osama Bin Laden Ruined Health Care Newsweek
If a bin Laden or any other specific villain were behind the troubles with the current system, you can bet that the percent of people calling reform a top priority would soar (Begley, 7/17).
On The Health Bill Politico
The trillion-dollar bill is less than most anticipated and is certainly affordable (half the price of Bush's tax cuts). Anything much less than the House bill will not result in real reform (Stoltzfuz, 7/17).
Trashed Job Market Follows Obama's Health Plan Bloomberg
As unemployment reaches a 26-year high and our economy continues to shed 500,000 jobs a month, it would not seem to be the best time to enact new mandates on business likely to accelerate the rate of job loss (Brownback, 7/17).
Robin Hood Tax Policy Forbes
The truth is that rich people aren't going to suddenly stop working in protest or move to some lower-taxed nation, and the economy isn't going to collapse if they are forced to pay a bit more in taxes. The real problem is that higher tax rates will encourage the wealthy to spend more of their time and resources engaging in tax avoidance rather than making money (Bartlett, 7/17). This is part of the Morning Briefing, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.