To Comfort The Afflicted
And Afflict The Comfortable
‘Forward’
BY SUSAN ESTRICH In backgrounding reporters in advance of the Democratic convention, organizers reportedly stressed that the tone in Charlotte would be much more optimistic than that in Tampa: that Democrats are looking “forward,” focusing on the future, even as they trumpet President Obama’s past accomplishments. Good try, my friends. I don’t think the word […]
A Modest Proposal: Raise Medicare Age To 95
BY FROMA HARROP Those who liken the health plan for government employees to the Republican plan for moving Medicare to private insurers miss a significant difference: the patients. The Federal Employee Health Benefits program works because its beneficiaries tend to be young and healthy. The many employees not needing expensive care subsidize the few who […]
Paul Ryan’s Speech Bubble
BY SUSAN ESTRICH The commentators may be raving, but if you ask me, they’re living in a bubble – along with the candidate. President Obama: Bad. Republicans: Good. My mother: My hero. Small business: Good. Government: Bad. Obama: Bad. Republicans: Good. I’ll be fair and balanced. I’m sure many of the same equations will apply […]
Foreign Affairs: How Romney’s Millions Went Tax-Free Overseas
BY JOE CONASON On the same day that Mitt Romney cracked his birther “joke,” new evidence indicated that he and his partners at Bain Capital have used questionable methods to avoid federal taxes – including a scheme that transforms corporate stock into untaxed offshore “derivatives” and a practice that converts management fees into capital gains, […]
Bad Immigration Ideas From All Directions
BY FROMA HARROP No balanced talk of immigration reform is expected before the November election. But that need not stop the airing of proposals, some of them semi-formed, some half-baked. From the left, we have the TRUST Act, a bill passed by the California Legislature and now awaiting Gov. Jerry Brown’s uncertain signature. It would […]
