Follow this link to a lecture given by Robert H. Frank.

In the lecture he explains one of the main thrusts of his book, The Economic Naturalist’s Field Guide: Common Sense Principles For Troubled Time. If you don’t know where he is going, the lecture may seem to drag a bit, even though he is humorous.  I think it is worth it to stick it out.

He explains why the Bush tax cuts that went mostly to the wealthy were not good even for the wealthy.  It also explains why they didn’t do much to stimulate an economy that didn’t need stimulation at the time anyway.  In some respects this is even more convincing argument in the current economy  than the argument that you need to give tax cuts to the middle and lower classes because they will spend more of it than the wealthy.

It’s not only a question of how much they spend, but what they spend it for.  Even the lower classes are likely to misspend some of the money than if the money were used for the investments proposed by the President’s stimulus plan.

Number 37 in health care, that is. Watch the video.

Nah, I didn’t think you’d believe the W.H.O.

Would you believe the CIA in their Country Comparison :: Life expectancy at birth?

Rank    Country

50      United States

Who would believe a bunch of left wing spies anyway?

I first saw this video posted on SeevsPlace. Seeing the link there encouraged me to take a look.  I am glad I did.

Follow this link to an unbiased analysis of the Coburn-Ryan Health Bill, the Republican alternative to the President’s health care reform plans.

Follow this link to see what the right wing nuts at the CATO Institute have to say.

Follow this link if you want to read the Ryan bill HR 2520 and follow its legislative history.

Follow this link if you want to read the Coburn bill S 1099 and follow its legislative history.

Here are a few biasedly chosen items from the bills’ summaries.

Replaces title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act with a program to provide grants to states

Repeals title XXI (State Children’s Health Insurance Program) (CHIP, formerly known as SCHIP) of the Social Security Act.

Establishes: (1) a Health Care Services Commission to enhance the quality, appropriateness, and effectiveness of health care services and access to such services; and (2) the Office of the Forum for Quality and Effectiveness in Health Care.

Terminates the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

Terminates the Federal Coordinating Council for Comparative Effectiveness Research.

Follow this link to the video of President Obama’s Address to a Joint Session of Congress on Health Care, Wednesday, September 9th, 2009, Washington, DC

Follow this link to see the prepared text of the speech.

At the same link where you can see the President’s video, you will find a link to the Republican response.  In this response, you will hear them lie about what the President’s bill would do and you will hear them lie about what their own bill would do.  And that is my considered, biased opinion.