01/25/2010
Austin FraktI’ve noticed an uptick in the quantity and quality of comments. That’s great! The most important difference between a public blog and a secret diary is that the former invites comments, either directly on the site or on other blogs. If I didn’t want reactions I wouldn’t muse publicly.
Keep it coming. If you’ve never commented, give it a try (do it anonymously if you wish). If you’ve commented on something already, thank you. I read every one and respond to many. My hope is that someday the volume of comments is so large I can’t keep up. That will be one indication this blog is making a meaningful (if only brief) difference in people’s lives.
(And no, I do not have a secret diary.)
by Anon on January 25th, 2010 at 22:38
Just want to say that I appreciate the blog a lot,
I’ve learned so much from it. And I also prefer
to see a health care bill pass, but I’m not
sure it’s this one… Something less hacked
together would be better. On the other hand
maybe it is better than the horrible mess we
have now?
by Austin Frakt on January 26th, 2010 at 04:37
@Anon – Since you raise a common concern–that the health care legislation is “hacked together”–I wonder if we can explore that a bit. Please elaborate.
My view is that this is one of the least “hacked together” of bills. There’s an internal logic to it that has been expressed well by others (see Krugman). Both House and Senate bills follow that logic and all major components are necessary. Second, health reform has to satisfy an unbelievably complex set of stakeholder interests. That’s the main reason it has failed in the past and why it may fail again.
That Democrats have managed to thread the needle of political interests and policy imperatives is absolutely stunning. No such thing has ever come so far. And yet, it may not make that short but difficult final step.
I do believe it would set us on a path to something better than the “horrible mess we have now.” I’ve heard of no other credible, politically viable proposal that would do the same.