What’s New

Democrats like to think of themselves as the creators and protectors of social insurance. Yet, there are two things to know about the safety net: 1) Almost all the money goes to special interests, not to poor people, and 2) although the special interests want more money, the last thing they want is reform of the programs from which they profit. More.

1. Codify the Trump 1 regulations for the short-term health insurance market.
2. Let people who buy into that market have one-half the tax credit Obamacare offers.
3. Let employers buy their employees into that market.
4. Continue the (Obamacare) enhanced subsidies for one year.
5. During that year work out the details on a fairer tax system for all private health insurance along the lines of the Sessions/Cassidy health reform bill.

More.

The main reason Democrats in Congress are willing to shut down the government is health care.  Both parties are missing an opportunity here. Obamacare insurance desperately needs reforming. Smart reforms would make the insurance better for those who have it and save taxpayers money at the same time. More

The Congressional Budget Office is now estimating that 10.9 million people will lose health insurance coverage because of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. In all the press coverage and editorializing about these changes two facts are being ignored: (1) people who lose their coverage are almost certain to be healthy,  and not in need of  medical care, and (2) if people who drop their coverage get sick, they can easily re-enroll and get Medicaid to pay their medical bills retrospectively. More.

The Democratic Party is having an identity crisis. John Goodman’s theory: The crisis arises because the way most Democrats talk about and think about their party is completely different from how the party actually functions. In a democracy politicians have an incentive to take from Peter and give to Paul whenever the Pauls can deliver more political support than the Peters. Of course, this is true for Republicans as well. But for Democrats that is their raison d’être. More

The Declaration of Independence was made possible because of two changes: A change in the way people thought and a change in the way they earned a living. With the Enlightenment came the idea that individuals are independent moral entities who should deal with each other on the basis of reason, persuasion and voluntary exchange. With the emergence of a market economy, the way individuals could do the most good for the most other people is by pursuing their own self-interest in the marketplace. More

Phil Gramm and Donald J. Boudreaux savagely dismantle myths about our economic history—myths that are routinely taught in high schools and colleges across the country. Included: The birth of capitalism in England and in America and the progressive era. More

What most people think they know about the past is often wrong. Capitalism and greed did not cause the Great Depression of the 1930s. Nor did they cause the Great Recession of 2007–2009. These events were caused by bad government. Those are some of the well documented conclusions of a new book. More