Centered Politics - Latest Comments

Re: Making Middle Class Opportunity Our Top Policy Priority

Pbotos43 — Wed, 02 May 2012 15:17:32 -0000

Sheri/Allan,

I agree w/ your assessment about Taem Obama needing to better articulate his vision of our economy. Having middle class families convey their positive economic experiences, during Obama's 1st term will be very helpful.

Romney supports the Ryan Budget Plan, which returns us to the untrammelled "free Market" the Republicans seen to enjoy. "DEREGULATION FOR ALL"!!!!!!!!

I can't think of one deregulation policy that has benefited the consumer. Before Reagan deregulated AT&T, my monthly telephone service cost under $5/month. Now, thanks to deregulation, the same service is around $50/month. I am SO grateful to Reagan!!! :(

The American public cannot afford another 4 years of George W Bush economics.

Re: How Many “Third Parties” Will There Be In 2012?

Pbotos43 — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 18:13:04 -0000

Allan/Sheri,

I agree w/ you about there being no major political party alternative to the Democratic and Republican Presedential candidates. The Libertarian Party could come close.

But, I don't believe there are enough nationwide supporters of that Party to influence voters.

influence the outcome of the Presendential election.

What the Republicans don't understand is that most voters are not unbalanced to the left ot right in their political views. I believe voters w/ moderate views constitute the majority. I believe if the Republicans nominate Santorum, Obama will win; no matter who is the Republican VP nominee.

The only Republican (in my view) who could upset Obama is Mitt Romney.

But, he's not tilted to the extreme political right, which seems to be the prevailing political "wind" in today's Republican Party.

Pete

Re: From McChrystal to Petraeus: Out Of The Frying Pan..?

Nicoleaz35 — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 12:35:16 -0000

Although the White House has firmly stuck by the withdrawal date, senior
administration officials have acknowledged that reductions of coalition
forces will probably be limited to those areas of the country where
insurgents are already scarce.
I don't really think that this will be much help either.

Nicole

Blog: plan de salle de bain

Re: Draft Moderate Manifesto Part 1

James Montmarquet — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 13:22:06 -0000

I would suggest that the basic principles of a "moderate" political philosophy are those of Edmund Burke--even though they are also consistent with conservatism. They begin with a regard for the concrete, the historical--over the abstract or purely theoretical. "I am a man of principle, and my first principle is flexibility"--a rough quote from Senator Dirksen of Illinois, who lent crucial support to the Civil Rights Law of 1964 (breaking with many conservative Republicans).

Re: Only One Thing is Certain, “Certainty” is A Weak Republican Talking Point

Jim Jaffe — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 07:56:16 -0000

The times are indeed uncertain, but business behavior in the political environment is less than surprising -- they want government to be more friendly to them. Don't we all? That won't solve our economic problems, but it will create greater comfort for the business community in the years ahead. The question for the moment isn't whether business is self interested. Most of us are. Rather it is whether anyone has a plan that has a reasonable probability of quickly making things better. I've yet to see one.

Re: Only One Thing is Certain, “Certainty” is A Weak Republican Talking Point

Wisefather — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 12:09:06 -0000

If you're going to call yourselves "job creators" doesn't that mean you have to take responsibility for the lack of jobs? I recently published a blog post about how I think we can motivate these "job creators" to do their duty. In a nutshell, it involves tying a new top marginal tax rate to the unemployment rate (and has a carrot and a stick). http://www.ragingwisdom.com/?p...

Re: There Is Reason To Believe That The New Health Reform Law Won’t Be Popular Any Time Soon

Margo — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 10:04:03 -0000

This is something I noticed with people, most of the time we are not comfortable with change. Majority of people resist change from happening. I don't quite understand why we are so afraid of changes and uncertainty when in fact life itself is full of change and uncertainties.

Hewlett

Re: Medicare Fix Rose By Any Other Name Still Has Thorns

Unna — Fri, 27 May 2011 09:57:43 -0000

This is non sense. The question is: Can the US economy pay for first world medical care for all its
people or not? If the answer is yes, then it's still a first world nation with a first
world economy and not, say, India. How it gathers and organizes the
economic resources to pay for medical care for all its people is a
secondary question. If the economy can support first world health
care, then it makes no sense to say that the government can't afford
it. If the economy can support it, then all the government needs to
do is, horror of horrors, tax the resources out of the economy to
provide first world levels of medical care for all. You know, just
like other first world countries do which otherwise also have higher median standards of living, better health care, better educational standards, and higher overall quality of life

The fact that the American political
system has access to these resources, but won't provide them to its
citizens in the form of medical care, shows America to be a country
that no longer shows loyalty to its own citizens. And that's a very
important thing to know. Sorry, but your country has become the world's example of a economic and political creep show rolling down hill. Glad I don't live there.

Re: GOP Budget Bravado Covers Weakness

Pbotos43 — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 17:19:50 -0000

I believe the Tea Party and the Republicans are on the wrong side of this budget issue again. The intactable attitude of the Tea Party Republicans places the blame for any government shutdown squarely on the Republican Party; just as it did in 1995-1996.

Rep Blake Farenthold (R-TX) said in an interview that the "inconvenience" to people if a shutdown occurs is okay. In 1995-1996, Members of Congress DID NOT GO WITHOUT THEIR PAY, during the shutdown. There were employees at the VA Medical Center, where I worked, who got bi-weekly checks of $5 and less, when "Newt & the Gang" shutdown the government. I believe Members of Congress would be immune from pay loss, again.

The Tea Party and the Republican Party are insensitive to the welfare of the many federal employees, who will suffer because of ideology, instead of being willing to compromise on the budget issue.

You can bet these Republican Members of Congress won't refuse THEIR salary checks, during a government shutdown.

Re: Draft Moderate Manifesto Part 1

J Eckler — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 11:51:16 -0000

The problem in the U.S. is the financial literacy rate. There is a focus on "net worth" of individuals, instead of cash flows. If the Federal Government owes someone $300,000 in SS benefits, and unlimited free health care worth another $300,000., why would they be considered "poor"? What we do is look at "parts of the picture" and not others. When school administrators have $300,000 pensions with health care for life that does not show up as "net worth", but it is. Until we do honest accounting these arguments of taxation and assets are meaningless. Why count a 401k, and ignore a pension of SS?

The real reason that we had the crash in 2008 was that in that year the "promises plus debt" that we had outstanding equaled more than the net worth of all Americans. The data is readily available from public documents. Wealthy Americans started looking for exist strategies since we had started down a long path toward fiscal instability.

Re: Government Shut Down? Boehner Will Blink Or Republicans Will Lose

Onewiseburdman — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 18:07:24 -0000

well written, As i sadly listened to the goings on in wisconsin today i fealt like again slowly but surely the far right and left are once again not listening to the american people in what we want.

Re: Draft Moderate Manifesto Part 1

Rise of the Center — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 00:58:21 -0000

If I thought people would read it, a lot of my posts would be essays too. Not a good or bad thing, just an if, then thing.

I do try to bring attention to things centrists and moderates can look to and be happy about, but there isn't a whole lot of it in our politics. I focus on current events because more people will read that kind of stuff, and we need voices speaking from our perspective in the mix more. We need all of it, more in depth stuff like this included... all the trappings of a centrist blogosphere.

We're getting there.

Re: Draft Moderate Manifesto Part 1

Centered Politics — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 10:24:44 -0000

We are delighted to have your feedback Solomon! We see we have many tastes in common. We agree that many people find a natural attraction to a moderate political orientation and need no convincing from ancient philosophers. But even with most voters in the center, our national politics seems to be drifting, or based on the headlines of the week, perhaps lurching to the extremes.

Your site is fantastic in getting into the fray of daily politics. Our purpose here may be slightly different from yours, a bit more oriented toward the longer term. In this series we a seeking to sketch out the outlines of a foundation for the set of principles moderates could say they are for, rather than defining themselves by what they are against.

We see our efforts as mutually reinforcing and we should do more linking, cross-posting and commenting on each others sites. Do not be surprised to see us in the comments of Rise of the Center quite soon.

And while we understand your suggestion to keep posts short, it just may not be our nature. You may be amused to learn that this article has already been broken up into pieces. There are 6 to 10 more assertions yet to come in this series. Heck, we can barely keep this response to your comment under 300 words. :)

Re: Draft Moderate Manifesto Part 1

Rise of the Center — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 23:28:07 -0000

Very interesting :)

The Stephen Mitchell Tao te Ching... best translation I know of as well. Seems to capture the poetry of it.

I don't think there needs to be an ideology. There isn't one now and still the majority of the country stands in the centrist to moderate range. As much as I consider Socrates and Lao Tzu the most wise men in all of history, and my personal favorites, people clearly don't need any of that to come to common sense conclusions on the issues of the day.

Might want to break it up into smaller pieces if you want more people to read it. I'll read stuff like this, but go past 300-400ish words and you lose a lot of people.

Solomon Kleinsmith
Rise of the Center

Re: Paul Krugman’s Two Political Moralities Leave Out the Majority of Americans and Even Our Elected Leaders

litesout — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 12:51:39 -0000

I believe you fail to understand Krugman's view while taking a utopian view of human behavior.

Re: Dueling Vision’s of America’s Health Care System

Edward Cowan — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 16:59:02 -0000

The way to deliver more health care at lower cost per patient or service is to train and make more use of health-care givers with adequate training short of MD status--nurses, physician's assistant, nurses with special training e.g. internal medicine or orthopedics, triage nurses, practical nurses, midwives, etc. Such persons could ameliorate shortages of providers in rural places and urban neighborhoods. And such training would open-up jobs that pay well for young adults who are not college graduates but who have dedication, perseverance and a need for steady employment.

Re: Dueling Vision’s of America’s Health Care System

Jimjaf — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 16:23:33 -0000

I see a slightly more nuanced argument, suggesting that people who get more attention and care on an outpatient basis will need hospitalization less, irrespective of their condition. it is important to remember that both the number of hospitals in America and the hospitalization days per thousand has been falling steadily for decades even as health status improves. he's suggesting a way to accelerate that trend, I think.

Re: Dueling Vision’s of America’s Health Care System

centeredpolitics — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 07:46:24 -0000

Seems like Gawande is arguing for more care for the population cycling in and out of hospitals. Sounds like part of the equation would be to give more necessary care to those who need it along with less care to those who don't. So efficiency and less aren't always the answer when one looks at the personal level. There are times when perhaps it would be more efficient to provide more care. The public needs to be convinced that reform won't take away their ability to receive necessary care.

Re: Dueling Vision’s of America’s Health Care System

H W Singer MD FAAP JD — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 00:27:53 -0000

The risk, if the GOP have their way, is that millions who have no insurance still won't have it, and pre-existing conditions will continue to preclude coverage. And the potential gain, if Obamacare wins in court, is that universal coverage will be legitimized, and something akin to Medicare-for-all (as in Australia, Taiwan, Canada, Japan) might be achieveable after all. And ultimately costs will be contained, as they have been elsewhere, because medicine works the way other socioeconomic systems work. The Japanese system was essentially a fee-for-service system, now buttressed by government cost control and, yes, universal insurance. The doctors and nurses (& hospital administrators) grumble a bit, but nobody is out of work, all hospital doors are open, and the Japanese patients enjoy the best care & express the highest satisfaction rates. Something to emulate perhaps. As for doctor shortage in the US, the analysis depends on geography, in that maldistribution accounts for underserved population groups in rural or depressed areas. Obamacare will have to address that as well if it is to truly succeed. You hinted at unnecessary procedures, but universal insurance mandates universal monitoring of expenditures, perhaps by supergroups such as ACOs (accountable care organizations), a fledgling if controversial concept showing promise in some areas.

Re: Dueling Vision’s of America’s Health Care System

Christopher Johnson — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 22:39:01 -0000

Jim:

Nice summary of the problem: physicians drive costs, especially procedural specialists. And, as we know from the Dartmouth studies, these increased costs do not provide us with better health outcomes in comparison with other countries. So, more docs means higher costs.

Unfortunately we just don't know what the appropriate number of physicians is per unit population. I do think we have a handle on how many generalists we should have relative to specialists -- about fifty-fifty.

Re: Dueling Vision’s of America’s Health Care System

Christopher Johnson — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 22:33:53 -0000

Jim:

Nice summary of a fundamental cost issue: physicians are a principal driver, arguably the principal driver, of healthcare costs. The more of them we have, especially procedural specialists, the higher the total bill will be. And, compared with other countries, we get no better health outcomes with that added cost, as the Dartmouth studies have clearly shown.

Unfortunately we really have no idea what the optimal number of physicians per unit of population is. I think we do have some idea of what the proportion of specialists to generalists should be -- about fifty/fifty at most. But medical centers have no incentive to cut the number of training slots for specialists. If anything, their incentive is to increase them because those trainees provide cheap labor for the medical centers.

Re: Paul Krugman’s Two Political Moralities Leave Out the Majority of Americans and Even Our Elected Leaders

Allan Rivlin — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 10:40:53 -0000

Strong agree -- and thank you for accepting our invitation to come to the site. You asked how you can help. Well (and this invitation is open to everyone) the first thing you can do is comment here. There are not enough people doing that but we are working to find more thoughtful people like you. There is a somewhat more robust discussion on our facebook feed. http://www.facebook.com/?sk=lf.... If you like to write we are seeking thoughtful essays and posts. We would normally give our link as editors@centeredpolitics.com, but it may not be working so (since this conversation has a limited audience for now) you may contact me (Allan) directly arivlin@hartresearch.com and I will forward it to the Editor in Chief (Sheri).

Re: Paul Krugman’s Two Political Moralities Leave Out the Majority of Americans and Even Our Elected Leaders

Jay — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 23:44:07 -0000

What really bothers me about Krugman's comments is that they reflect a POV that too many on the left and right share. There must be perpetual war until the other side is annihilated. Sorry, but how does that solve anything? Personally, I think this is just a bad habit from the Bush years that we need break posthaste if we want to get things done.

Re: Paul Krugman’s Two Political Moralities Leave Out the Majority of Americans and Even Our Elected Leaders

Allan Rivlin — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 16:07:40 -0000

Good point, and your post link is well worth following.

Re: Paul Krugman’s Two Political Moralities Leave Out the Majority of Americans and Even Our Elected Leaders

William Berkson — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 12:26:02 -0000

I agree with you that Krugman got it too polarized, but equally important he characterizes differences that are basically about economic understanding, not morality, as I lay out in my blog: http://therepublicon.blogspot.... . By calling the differences basically "moral" he is not only too pessimistic, but wrongly closes the door on fruitful debate.