The Beginning of the End of Private Health Insurance: How Obama's public health insurance option will quickly evolve into the only option
President Obama and leading Democratic lawmakers like Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) are pushing to create a government health insurance scheme to compete with private health insurance. It will cost less because the feds will impose price controls on doctors and hospitals. Attracted by cheaper government insurance, employers will dump their employees into the government plan. By one estimate the number of Americans with private health insurance will fall from 170 million today to fewer than 50 million. Science Correspondent Ronald Bailey explains that once the vast majority of Americans are covered under various government "insurance" plans, the push to go all the way toward universal coverage will likely be irresistible. http://www.reason.com/news/show/134016.html<http://sol.sparklist.com/t/4737998/28258852/77640/0/> The Man Can't Tax Our Music: The music industry wants to impose an onerous new fee on broadcasters. For decades, record companies have been begging radio stations to play their music. If the Performance Rights Act passes, they'll be charging those stations to play their music as well. Managing Editor Jesse Walker explains why that isn't a good idea. http://www.reason.com/news/show/134011.html<http://sol.sparklist.com/t/4737998/28258852/77641/0/> The Joys of Brain Scrubbing: The advantages of memory deletion in a collectively omniscient world >From our July issue, Contributing Editor Greg Beato examines the advantages of memory deletion in a collectively omniscient world. http://www.reason.com/news/show/133859.html<http://sol.sparklist.com/t/4737998/28258852/77642/0/> >From Hit & Run, Reason.com’s staff blog Republicans Acknowledge the Undeniable Appeal of Gays with Guns Clearly, the endtimes are upon us. Republican Sens. Tom Coburn (Okla.) and John Thune (S.D.) are offering friendly amendments to the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act, sponsored by Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.). It's a peculiarly Republican way of playing nice, to be sure: Coburn and Thune are proposing the addition of an amendment promoting interstate concealed carry. From the Democratic perspective, it's sort of like when your cat brings you a dead mouse. Sure, you're grossed out, but maybe the cat meant it as a gesture of friendship—or at least an acknowledgment of your superior position in the pack (pride?). Read the rest here. <http://sol.sparklist.com/t/4737998/28258852/77643/0/> Posted by Katherine Mangu-Ward http://www.reason.com/blog/show/134027.html Daily Brickbat Sleeping on the Job In Pennsylvania, school officials have asked police to charge 17 Lehigh High School students with trespassing. The 17 scaled the school's walls and camped out overnight in a courtyard as a senior prank. They didn't break or take anything, but school officials say they'll likely impose their own disciplinary action as well as the criminal sanctions they've asked for. http://reason.com/brickbat/<http://sol.sparklist.com/t/4737998/28258852/75964/0/> Click here to unsubscribe.<http://sol.sparklist.com/t/4737998/28258852/76426/0/> --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
