WASHINGTON — The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away, but for governments it’s not that easy. Once something is given — say, health insurance coverage to 20 million Americans — you take it away at your peril. This is true for any government benefit, but especially for health care. There’s a reason not one […]
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Trump's budget proposal presents an historic opportunity
“No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we’ll ever see on this earth!” — Ronald Reagan President Trump presented his first budget to Congress Thursday. It is, as The Washington Post points out, “historic” because, if adopted, […]
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Trump poised to pass leadership baton to China
NEW YORK — We do not yet have the official agenda for next month’s meeting at Mar-a-Lago between Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. But after 75 years of American leadership on the world stage, we might be watching the beginning of a handover of power from the United States to China. President Trump […]
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What if we can’t handle the truth?
It is time, once again, to explain journalism to Fox News. In a way, that’s disappointing. After all, that network’s Shepard Smith has emerged as something of a journalistic hero lately, repeatedly standing up to Donald Trump’s administration for its attempts to undermine and delegitimize the news media. It’s been a stirring performance — and […]
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Health care and 'The Virtue of Selfishness'
WASHINGTON — “The law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal bread.” The novelist Anatole France’s mischievous observation came to mind when the Congressional Budget Office released its analysis of the Republican cut-taxes/gut-Medicaid bill and its defenders went […]
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GOP needs better arguments for Trumpcare
Of all the arguments to make for repealing and replacing Obamacare, the very worst is that people don’t need health insurance. Yet this is a Trump administration talking point. White House press secretary Sean Spicer told reporters last week, “When we get asked the question, ‘How many people are going to get covered?’ that’s not […]
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'Trumpcare' takes care of 'repeal,' but not 'replace'
WASHINGTON — What we learned from the latest “score” by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) of Obamacare and the Trump administration’s “repeal and replace” plan is what we should have known all along. To wit: If people have health insurance, they will use more health services — visits to doctors’ offices, more tests, procedures and […]
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Politicians don't understand the reality of poverty
Suddenly, there was just blood everywhere. It erupted from my father’s mouth as we sat watching television. I was still struggling to process this horror when my mother, too shaken to drive, asked me — 17 years old and still on my learner’s permit — to get us to the emergency room. Somehow, we made […]
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Changing demographic landscape has created a level of discomfort
Yelling racist in a crowded nation WASHINGTON — “Culture and demographics are our destiny.” Stop. But Iowa Rep. Steve King didn’t stop there. He continued to feed his foot deep into his gullet: “We can’t restore our civilization with somebody else’s babies.” Well, now. Let’s pause to parse. First, one never speaks of “somebody else’s […]
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Emerging threats drive Navy's ship controversy
U.S. naval officers charged with making sure the future fleet can fight and win American wars have concluded the Navy needs a new generation of frigates. Building new frigates to replace the U.S. Navy’s Perry-class frigates was something many naval officers and Pentagon budget analysts wanted to avoid. All told, 71 Perry-class frigates served with […]