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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsKrugman: Reform Turns Real
Reform Turns Real
By PAUL KRUGMAN
At this point, the crisis in American governance has taken on a life of its own. Some Republicans are now saying openly that they want concessions in return for reopening the government and avoiding default, not because they have any specific policy goals in mind, but simply because they dont want to feel disrespected. And no endgame is in sight.
But this confrontation did start with a real issue: Republican efforts to stop Obamacare from going into effect. Its long been clear that the great fear of the Republican Party was not that health reform would fail, but that it would succeed. And developments since Tuesday, when the exchanges on which individuals will buy health insurance opened for business, strongly suggest that their worst fears will indeed be realized: This thing is going to work.
Wait a minute, some readers are saying. Havent many stories so far been of computer glitches, of people confronting screens telling them that servers are busy and that they should try again later? Indeed, they have. But everyone knowledgeable about the process always expected some teething problems, and the nature of this weeks problems has actually been hugely encouraging for supporters of the program...let me say a word about the underlying irrelevance of start-up troubles for new government programs.
Political reporting in America, especially but not only on TV, tends to be focused on the play-by-play. Who won todays news cycle? And, to be fair, this sort of thing may matter during the final days of an election...Obamacare isnt up for a popular referendum, or a revote of any kind. Its the law, and its going into effect. Its future will depend on how it works over the next few years, not the next few weeks...the glitches of October wont matter in the long run. But why are they actually encouraging? Because they appear, for the most part, to be the result of the sheer volume of traffic, which has been much heavier than expected. And this means that one big worry of Obamacare supporters that not enough people knew about the program, so that many eligible Americans would fail to sign up is receding fast...its important that people who want to sign up can actually do so. But the computer problems can and will be fixed. So, by March 31, when enrollment for 2014 closes, we can be reasonably sure that millions of Americans who were previously uninsured will have coverage under the Affordable Care Act. Obamacare will have become a reality, something people depend on, rather than some fuzzy notion Republicans could demonize. And it will be very hard to take that coverage away.
- more -
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/04/opinion/krugman-reform-turns-real.html
By PAUL KRUGMAN
At this point, the crisis in American governance has taken on a life of its own. Some Republicans are now saying openly that they want concessions in return for reopening the government and avoiding default, not because they have any specific policy goals in mind, but simply because they dont want to feel disrespected. And no endgame is in sight.
But this confrontation did start with a real issue: Republican efforts to stop Obamacare from going into effect. Its long been clear that the great fear of the Republican Party was not that health reform would fail, but that it would succeed. And developments since Tuesday, when the exchanges on which individuals will buy health insurance opened for business, strongly suggest that their worst fears will indeed be realized: This thing is going to work.
Wait a minute, some readers are saying. Havent many stories so far been of computer glitches, of people confronting screens telling them that servers are busy and that they should try again later? Indeed, they have. But everyone knowledgeable about the process always expected some teething problems, and the nature of this weeks problems has actually been hugely encouraging for supporters of the program...let me say a word about the underlying irrelevance of start-up troubles for new government programs.
Political reporting in America, especially but not only on TV, tends to be focused on the play-by-play. Who won todays news cycle? And, to be fair, this sort of thing may matter during the final days of an election...Obamacare isnt up for a popular referendum, or a revote of any kind. Its the law, and its going into effect. Its future will depend on how it works over the next few years, not the next few weeks...the glitches of October wont matter in the long run. But why are they actually encouraging? Because they appear, for the most part, to be the result of the sheer volume of traffic, which has been much heavier than expected. And this means that one big worry of Obamacare supporters that not enough people knew about the program, so that many eligible Americans would fail to sign up is receding fast...its important that people who want to sign up can actually do so. But the computer problems can and will be fixed. So, by March 31, when enrollment for 2014 closes, we can be reasonably sure that millions of Americans who were previously uninsured will have coverage under the Affordable Care Act. Obamacare will have become a reality, something people depend on, rather than some fuzzy notion Republicans could demonize. And it will be very hard to take that coverage away.
- more -
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/04/opinion/krugman-reform-turns-real.html
This 2010 commentary on the health care law was prescient
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023787146
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Krugman: Reform Turns Real (Original Post)
ProSense
Oct 2013
OP
ProSense
(116,464 posts)1. Kick! n/t
ProSense
(116,464 posts)2. Another. n/t
Hekate
(91,003 posts)3. I'm totally kicking this for Krugman
Thanks, ProSense.
ProSense
(116,464 posts)4. Yes. Thanks. n/t