Mark Twain on Sermonizing
“Few sinners are saved after the first twenty minutes of a sermon.” Amen to that!
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Debate Rages Over Obamacare, Medical Costs
When Dr. Jeffrey Rice needed to schedule outpatient foot surgery for his son three years ago, he called the recommended facility to find out what it would cost. The estimate was so high — $15,000 to $25,000 — that Rice asked the surgeon for a second option. The cost for the same one-hour procedure at…
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How Good Is the Good News about Healthcare Inflation?
Recent news reports have excitedly announced that healthcare inflation seems to be under control. In 2012, for example the cost of health insurance premiums rose only 4% for a typical American family, a paltry figure compared to the almost 10% annual increases experienced a decade or so ago. But just how good is this good news? Look…
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Great Video Explaining Health Insurance Exchanges
Regular followers of my blog probably realize by now that I am a big fan of Sarah Kliff , at the Washington Post, who does a great job of reporting on the many ups and downs of Obamacare. Here is a video Sarah just put together, explaining the health insurance exchanges which go “live” today,…
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Abraham Lincoln Knew How to Milk a Metaphor
I could go on quoting Abraham Lincoln all day long, for he was one of the finest writers of his or any time. Here’s one very special quote, where Lincoln uses the metaphor of a snake to make distinctions between slavery itself being bad, versus policies to limit slavery to the south, versus policies to…
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Blue Cross Previews Health-Exchange Plan Rates
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina will offer individual health plans through new on-line exchanges ranging from $185 for the lowest-cost plan for 25-year-olds to $947 for the top plan for a 60-year old. Those rates were among those the insurer included Thursday in a preview of the plans it will look to…
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Abraham Lincoln's Original Interpretation of Original Intent
For at least the last few decades, conservative legal scholarship in United States has paid a great deal of attention to the idea of original intent. According to this view, the best way to interpret the Constitution of the United States is to imagine what the writers of that document meant at the time they…
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The Rise of Government Spending: An International View
An article from The Economist last April explored Margaret Thatcher’s influence on government spending in Britain during her tenure as prime minister. The magazine published a very interesting graphic, showing the rise of government spending in five countries. I thought I would reproduce the picture for you here, because it illustrates some fascinating issues: First, at…
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Be Careful What Standards You Use to Judge Historical Figures: The Case of Abraham Lincoln
It’s always tricky to judge anyone’s moral character, much less that of historical figures who lived during times very different from our own. Most of the great people who founded the United States, for example, had slaves. Some even sired children with those slaves – like Thomas Jefferson. Hard to know how to judge that….
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What Mammograms Teach Us About Wildfires, Floods, and Tornadoes
In the wake of the horrific floods that struck Colorado recently, many people have debated whether global warming is to blame. The same goes for wildfires that hit that state this summer and for the massive tornado that struck in Oklahoma this spring. In the wake of that tornado, for instance, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse from…