Jul 15, 2009
Week of July 13, 2009
Robert Reich
Universal health insurance won't happen unless Obama can light a fire under the Senate Finance Committee this week. Within the next two weeks, the Committee must report out a bill that contains a public option and a credible source of money (either limiting deductions of the wealthy to 28 percent or capping tax-free employer-provided health care, or some of both). Obama then has to get both the Senate and the House (which reports out a bill today) to approve their respective bills before August 7, when Congress heads home for recess.Why is timing so important? Because the health-care clock is ticking, and doesn't have many weeks left. Universal health care is so complicated - touching on so much of the economy, stepping on the toes of so many vested interests - that to allow the bills to languish past recess risks the entire goal. Speed is essential. Recall that after Bill Clinton was elected, universal health insurance looked inevitable; a year later, it was doomed. As Lyndon Johnson warned his staff after the 1964 landslide,"every day while I'm in office, I'm gonna lose votes."
The Economy Is Even Worse Than You Think: The average length of unemployment is higher than it's been since government began tracking the data in 1948.
Ms. Baskerville, who is black, made a startling discovery: Her great-great-great grandfather was owned by Carter Braxton, a Virginia signer of the Declaration of Independence.