It’s stories like these that make me wonder if having a rational, adult conversation about budget priorities is even possible. People like roads. They use them every day. Most people would say that the quality of roads in this country is not great. And yet nobody wants to raise the federal gas tax, despite the… Continue reading More Budget Unseriousness
Twin Cities Pride Photos
On Sunday, Julia and I went to the Twin Cities Pride Parade, where I took a bunch of pictures. Some samples are below the jump.
Health care for the discerning shopper
If health care is supposed to be more like coupon-clipping and waiting for sales, it appears that somebody forgot to tell the doctors.
Simple Answers
If your house is on fire and you manage to sell off the bedroom and kitchen, you can say that you now have fewer things on fire, and so you’re improving!
The Fraud/Waste Panacea
I understand the sentiment behind these government fraud/waste stunts, but they do really annoy me for several reasons. First, they reinforce the notion that waste and fraud are rampant, thus making people even less confident about government and playing right into the right-wing narrative that government is useless. Second, and more importantly, it completely obscures… Continue reading The Fraud/Waste Panacea
Delinking Health Care
You’d be pretty annoyed if your cell phone contract followed your job, or if your employer dictated which brand of car you could drive. Yet when it comes to health insurance, the notion that your employer gets to decide for you, and that if you switch jobs there is no guarantee you can keep your… Continue reading Delinking Health Care
Consumer Financial Protection
Unfettered competition is the lifeblood of the free market. So you would expect that those businesses that love the free market would love as much competition as possible, right? Not always.
Pawlenty’s content-free campaign
I used to think TPaw was Minnesota’s Don Quixote, tilting at windmills without a chance of getting the nomination. Given the terrible field for the Republicans so far, however, it’s not as impossible as I once thought, and that’s a bit frightening.
U.S. Bank and customer choice
Predictions of the end of free checking seem to have come true, at least for U.S. Bank: I recently received notice that my free checking account, which I’ve had for over a decade, will now have a monthly fee attached if I don’t carry a minimum balance or do enough in direct deposits. Since my… Continue reading U.S. Bank and customer choice
The DREAM Act explained
So apparently somebody pretending to run for president slammed the DREAM Act today while visiting Ellis Island. For those not in the know, the DREAM Act allows children of undocumented immigrants to conditionally receive permanent residency for going to college or serving in the U.S. military. This would reduce the deficit by about $1.4 billion… Continue reading The DREAM Act explained