Paul Krugman: Rube Goldberg Survives
Holy seven million, Batman! The Affordable Care Act, a k a Obamacare, has made a stunning comeback from its shambolic start. As the March 31 deadline for 2014 coverage approached, there was a surge in applications at the exchanges the special insurance marketplaces the law set up. And the original target of seven million signups, widely dismissed as unattainable, has been surpassed.
But what does it mean? That depends on whether you ask the laws opponents or its supporters. You see, the opponents think that it means a lot, while the laws supporters are being very cautious. And, in this one case, the enemies of health reform are right. This is a very big deal indeed.
Of course, you dont find many Obamacare opponents admitting outright that 7.1 million and counting signups is a huge victory for reform. But their reaction to the results Its a fraud! Theyre cooking the books! tells the tale. Conservative thinking and Republican political strategy were based entirely on the assumption that it would always be October, that Obamacares rollout would be an unremitting tale of disaster. They have no idea what to do now that its turning into a success story.
More here: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/04/opinion/krugman-rube-goldberg-survives.html?ref=politics&_r=0
http://theobamadiary.com/