tbentley.com

NY Times:

Ezra Klein in Wonkblog

From my reporting with the White House, I think the president’s view of the economy is that globalization is here and it’s not going away. The economy rewards high skills more than ever. Automatic and computerization and foreign competition are wiping out many middle class jobs, and while some new ones are created, it’s not at all clear that enough are being created. But in his view, he sees more redistribution as very necessary in this context. He thinks that if the economy is going to grow but the gains won’t be broadly shared, then it’s the government’s role to try and redistribute some, though of course not all, or even most, of those gains.

There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old’s life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs.

The term ‘premium care’ has positive connotations. Premium gas is high-test gas;  premium services are those that provide more services; premium seats at the theater are those front-center.

Premium Health Care is actually referring to the charge you pay for health insurance.  That is, premium as a monthly fee.

‘Voucher’ Insurance Plan would be a more honestly descriptive term.  Or ‘constrained reimbursement’.  ‘Token’ health care?

But the word Premium carries with it its own positive conotation, and its double meaning.

It’s like ‘pro-life’ as opposed to ‘pro-choice’.  You could be pro-choice, and still be against abortion; but if you’re pro-life, you can’t be in favor of abortion: the opposite to pro-life is anti-life.

If you are over 65, and you are male,  you just have to have a moustache.  Look, you look like you’ve got a moustache–your upper lip looks just like it’s got a moustache,  but you don’t really have one.  How can we ever trust you?  You’re in disguise!  Hey, let that hair grow out, and come out as who you are:  an old fart!

American higher education is in a crisis; quoting an article  in CNNMoney (Oct. 18, 2012)

Two-thirds of the class of 2011 held student loans upon graduation, and the average borrower owed $26,600, according to a report from the Institute for College Access & Success’ Project on Student Debt. That’s up 5% from 2010 and is the highest level of debt in the seven years the report has been published.

In other words, two-thirds of the graduating class is now held hostage to their debt, required by law to become gainfully employed and devote a major portion of their income to repayment.

What an unconscionable state of affairs.  A college education is more and more necessary for any kind of livable employment.

College students are thus made into wage-slaves, indentured servants upon graduation.

The state–that is, all of us in the national community–are responsible for the education of our populace.A university education, or equivilant techinical education, is a right that needs to be provided by us, the national community, through our elected representative government.