Continued Slow-Motion Implosion of America’s Hollow Economy

Nobody can predict the future. But I have a hunch, so I might as well share it.
I believe the United States economy has been so hollowed out that we will not return to the prosperity we were accustomed to in the latter part of the 20th Century. There is no economic foundation on which to [...]

Corruption, Greed, Incompetence — And Here Comes Election 2010

Remember “Sex, Drugs, Rock ‘n’ Roll?”  How about “Fear And Loathing?”  A few choice words  have power to evoke an ethos or a zeitgeist! Forget about complete sentences. I’m talking poetry, headlines, book titles, songs.
“Hot, Flat, and Crowded” is the best recent entry in the field. (Thank you Tom Friedman).
“Corruption, Greed, and Incompetence” will be [...]

Stupid Media Tricks (The Washington Post); And Blogging With Flair (Girl On The Brink)

The amazing implosion of the MSM (that’s mainstream media) continues.
The Washington Post unveiled a new, dumbed-down version of its Sunday magazine a couple of weeks ago. More ads, less content. Don’t these newspaper guys get it? Don’t they understand that every redesign speeds up the downward death spiral.
Last Sunday, The Post magazine featured a story [...]

Health Care ‘Haves’ and ‘Have-Nots’

There are two fundamental goals for health care reform in America. The problem is, many of us accept one goal but reject the other.  Therein lies the conflict that is roiling town-hall meetings across America this week. This is democracy in action.
The two goals for health care reform:

Universal Health Care. That is, make health care [...]

The Final Battle for Health Care Justice

Now comes the climactic battle for health-care justice in America. No one said it was going to be an easy fight. 
Many interests are united against health care for all Americans. A lot is at stake. Power and privilege, for sure, but mostly it’s about wealth. A whole lot of profit is siphoned off by the [...]

Ocean City Business at Mid-Season, 2009

The Boardwalk looks festive and crowded in Ocean City, Maryland. And you see a lot of cars in the parking lot at the WalMart between Berlin and Ocean City.
What you don’t see is very many tourists carrying filled shopping bags on the Boardwalk. And you won’t see every parking space filled along Baltimore Avenue and St. [...]

President Barack Obama: “Rebuilding A Better Economy”

Today’s Washington Post Op-Ed page features a column by President Barack Obama reviewing the steps his administration is taking to lead the U.S. out the deep economic recession.
One paragraph in particular seems crucial to me:
“There are some who say we must wait to meet our greatest challenges. They favor an incremental approach or believe that doing [...]

Health Care Public Option Explained (Thank you, George Will)

Wordsmith George Will, the venerable arch-conservative newspaper columnist, has made some astute observations about the economics of health insurance.
Note that Mr. Will is arguing against the proposed “public option” as an alternative to private health insurance. 
“Competition from the public option must be unfair because government does not need to make a profit and has enormous [...]

Health Care Public Option Is Not An Option, It’s A Necessity

Congress and health insurance companies are mired in dysfunction and denial
Polls show decisive majorities of Americans favor the “public option” health care reform proposed by President Barack Obama.
If U.S. democracy were working properly, the debate would be over, and Congress would be ironing out the details.
But entrenched powers resist change fiercely, and the dysfunctional U.S. [...]

Health Care Public Option: Can Do

American health care: Public Option or Public Plan??  Yes. Please.
Single payer would be even better. But a Public Plan competing with private insurers is acceptable.
I don’t have time to write a post. But I’ll do a fragment of a post.
Old saying in Montgomery County politics: You compromise on . . . “You can compromise on [...]