Some Chicago Boyz know each other from student days at the University of Chicago. Others are Chicago boys in spirit. The blog name is also intended as a good-humored gesture of admiration for distinguished Chicago School economists and fellow travelers.
And paternalism.
Chet Edwards phoned tonight, his taped voice inviting us to a telephone “conference” already half through when they got to our number. I listened – I didn’t want to clean the kitchen.
The Democrats seem to be perfecting cotton candy speechifying. When given a captive audience that can’t speak back, they lean back, tell us they have our best interests at heart, and pontificate.
Via American Digest, via Instapundit.
We need someone with good photoshop skilz to come up with a logo for the Conservative Revolutionary Front (CRF).
I’ve had a hard time taking John Mackey (Whole Foods co-founder & CEO) very seriously ever since he was caught engaging in sock-puppetry of a particularly silly sort. But his thoughts on healthcare, as expressed in this article, are well-thought-out and concisely written. Read the whole thing, but Mackey’s ideas include:
–Repeal all state laws which prevent insurance companies from competing across state lines.
–Equalize the tax laws so that employer-provided health insurance and individually owned health insurance have the same tax benefits.
–Enact tort reform to end the ruinous lawsuits that force doctors to pay insurance costs of hundreds of thousands of dollars per year.
–Make costs transparent so that consumers understand what health-care treatments cost.
Meanwhile, our President continues to push his own complex and radical plan through the use of high-pressure sales tactics and exaggerations. Here’s Obama talking about tonsils:
It comes to something when the Prime Minister of a country that is in the middle of a serious political, economic and, let’s face it, spiritual crisis can think of nothing better to do with his time than to become involved in a stupid Twitter campaign to persuade Americans that the NHS, well-known for its expense, incompetence and low standards (for a rich Western country) is absolutely wonderful.
Coupled with the most extraordinary hysteria that has once again pushed any notion of a real British debate about healthcare as far away from political discussion as possible, this has not been an edifying spectacle.
I have a rant with more details on Your Freedom and Ours. Enjoy.
Radio talk show host Mark Levin read my “The Dangers of Decompartmentalized Health Care Spending” on the air last night (8/13/09). You can listen to it online here. It starts at roughly the 75:00 mark and goes to 85:00.
Nifty.