A Dangerous Dysfunction By PAUL KRUGMAN

[babsbunny]

A Dangerous Dysfunction

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/21/opinion/21krugman.html

By PAUL KRUGMAN
Published: December 20, 2009


Unless some legislator pulls off a last-minute double-cross, health care reform will pass the Senate this week. Count me among those who consider this an awesome achievement. It’s a seriously flawed bill, we’ll spend years if not decades fixing it, but it’s nonetheless a huge step forward.

It was, however, a close-run thing. And the fact that it was such a close thing shows that the Senate — and, therefore, the U.S. government as a whole — has become ominously dysfunctional.

[HuckleB]

1. It's a great piece on many levels.

[FormerDittoHead]

2. AMEN. We have to change it from an auction to a Democracy. n/t

[mnhtnbb]

3. This is THE challenge. We have government of the money, by the money, for the money

and it's long past time to change that. The first step is removing "personhood" status from corporations.

[MisterP]

4. I think the country's real problem also lies in "we’ll spend years if not decades fixing it, but

nonetheless a huge step forward": outside of neolib and Third-Way circles, just thinking that would cause an aneurysm due to the utter insanity of that comment. How high or schizophrenic do you have to be to even write that? It's like the people on the bus who blame California wildfires on fire-"blowers" which are banned in Germany.

because all these chants of unity and acceptance just make those who pass bad bills even stronger: can anyone run against Stupak, the Nelsons, or Casey if they keep repeating "I admit that the insurance giveaway is so much greater than the Civil Rights Act and the Social Security Act combined that it makes me spontaneously orgasm, but I still disagree with it"?

it's just like the Cold War: "the Commies are awful and their victory in Salvador/Vietnam is unacceptable, even if Ollie North acted badly"; and where is North now? weak-sauce politics and rhetoric; it will only allow the Democrats--and all America--to keep careening rightward, no matter how many Dems are in the Senate

[Winterblues]

6. I look at it a little differently than you do

It is like we are all on a deserted island and somehow managed to put together a small raft out of bamboo. It will keep us afloat and on our way to a safer place but it could be a whole lot better. A row boat would be better and then again a motor boat would be even better and then again a thousand ton ship would even be better, but the main thing is we are no longer on the deserted island..

[HuckleB]

7. I like your analogy.

[Hello_Kitty]

8. And somehow you think you're going to build a better boat while in transit?

Or were you hoping the USS Aetna was going to come along and save us?

[Winterblues]

11. We might be able to add along the way but the main thing is

We are on our way to a better place...

[Synicus Maximus]

10. As long as we don't sink

[HuckleB]

5. Kick.

[optimator]

9. dems are at the pinnacle of power

fixing it later is not an option.
and they know it.

[closeupready]

12. That's a good point.

They will lose seats next year, and then how does anyone think anyone can find the votes to 'fix' the problems instead of neglecting them or even culturing them?

If a 'problem' is the source of your livelihood, you are going to move heaven and earth to keep from fixing that problem.