Category Archives: Health

Business, Economics, Health, Media Criticism, Political Commentary

Gruber

42 Comments

Dear Democrats, don’t even think about trying to run away from him.

[Afternoon update]

The epic search of Diogenes for an honest man is over.

[Update a few minutes later]

It gets worse:

I think we’d probably like to get rid of the tax exempt status for health care benefits.

Note that McCain proposed doing just that in the 2008 election. His idea was that we would get rid of this exemption and instead give people an additional tax credit valued at the average cost of health insurance. Thus, people would be held harmless by the change, but we’d get rid of this government-made distortion in how employers pay their employees.

Barack Obama, get this, demagogued that plan and accused McCain of wanting to increase taxes on people.

And meanwhile, he schemed to achieve the same thing, except without that part about giving people an additional tax credit which would offset increased taxes, and, get this, without telling people he was getting rid of the tax exemption.

Once again — subverting democracy by completely destroying the concept of Consent of the Governed.

All in a day’s work.

[Update a while later]

Obama himself was leading the discussion of how to take away the tax benefits.

Business, Economics, Health, Media Criticism, Political Commentary

A Simpler Cheaper Health-Care Policy

5 Comments

It would be a huge improvement over the current mess:

I think that from the libertarian perspective, either of these proposals should be preferable to Obamacare. I’d even argue that they should both be more appealing to progressives. But the administration didn’t want simple, modest and stable; it wanted a massive, transformational legacy. Which is why, four years later, we’re still fighting about it.

Yup.

Business, Health, Media Criticism, Political Commentary

ObamaCare

14 Comments

…is going back to SCOTUS.

This makes the en bank ruling in DC pointless.

I’m guessing they’ll find that the subsidies aren’t legal. The question is whether or not they’ll strike down the whole law this time, because they’re a pretty fundamental part of it.

[Update a few minutes later]

Here’s an explainer from SCOTUSblog.

[Update a while later]

And here‘s Jonathan Adler’s take:

With this grant, the court has the opportunity to reaffirm the principle that the law is what Congress enacts, not what the administration or others wish Congress had enacted with the benefit of hindsight. Granting tax credits to those who need help purchasing health insurance may be a good idea, and may have bipartisan support, but the IRS lacks the authority to authorize such tax credits where Congress failed to do so. The PPACA only authorizes tax credits for the purchase of insurance on exchanges “established by the State.”

Yup. To grant an agency that kind of discretion would be a form of tyranny.

[Update a few minutes later]

Six potential effects of a ruling against HHS.

Business, Economics, Health, Media Criticism, Political Commentary, Science And Society, Social Commentary, Technology and Society

Financial Planning For Life Extension

2 Comments

An interview with Joel Garreau. Not sure I agree with this:

Boomer octogenarians in 2030 have “too many hard miles on their chassis” to fully benefit, but younger people may have trouble imagining the onetime prevalence of sickness and death.

I won’t be quite that old, but I think that there’s a good possibility that even for octo/nonoganerians there will be potential reversal of damage, and rejuvenation by then. And current government policies based on Scenario 1 (i.e., pretty much business as usual) are doomed to bankruptcy.