The cancer of American politics

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"For example, Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act in 2010 turned into something of a monstrosity during the legislative process as a result of all the concessions inside payments that had to be made to interest groups, including doctors, insurance companies, and the pharmaceutical industry. The bill itself ran to 900 pages…" -- Francis Fukuyama, Political Order and Political Decay, p. 480

Yes, indeed: the good done by the ACA could have been done with a 10-page bill subsidizing insurance coverage for everyone making under some amount per year. That means there are 890 pages of bad in there.

Comments

  1. Samson Corwell5:42 PM

    What do you the most pressing issue in national politics is today?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. gcallah6:57 PM

      Breaking the hold of the military-industrial complex on our politics.

      Delete
    2. Ken B7:37 PM

      That most people see ad hominem as sound.

      Delete
    3. Samson Corwell9:20 PM

      Would that happen to include the security state?

      Delete
  2. Keshav Srinivasan5:58 PM

    So you don't think the insurance regulations did any good?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. gcallah6:56 PM

      I'm sure they did somebody some good, but enough good to be worth the huge complexity of the bill? I doubt it. Companies apparently have to hire ACA consultants to understand how to deal with it!

      Delete
    2. Samson Corwell9:21 PM

      "Companies apparently have to hire ACA consultants to understand how to deal with it!"

      But that's job creation right there!

      Delete
  3. Ken B7:37 PM

    Indeed. A mandate makes a lot of sense, but you have to be willing to pay for it. End the employer exemption, give everyone X via a negative tax, and supply federally paid catastrophic insurance.

    ReplyDelete

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