If you, like me, have been looking for a thoughtful, definitive article on the health care crisis, I highly recommend this lengthy piece in the Atlantic.
I just finished it, and I found it incredibly sane. The writer, a Democrat, had a perspective that I felt put government and the free-market in their proper places.
I’m no expert on politics or any political battles outside the (moral-religious) culture wars. I admit I struggle to know which voices to listen to when it comes to issues like health care. I feel as if I’ve got people on either side of me screeching at me to listen to them and not to the others.
This author doesn’t screech or blame any vast conspiracies on the left or the right. He simply explains why the profit motive has acted with completely predictable logic.
Hi Mark! Thank you for posting this–a very sane article, as you say. I found his analysis of the current comprehensive-insurance model to be particularly thought-provoking. We really don’t use insurance in the same way for another aspect of life.
A tangential question, not related to the health-care issue: do you regularly read The Atlantic, and, if so, what do you think?
Jeremy
I read Atlantic articles when they achieve a certain high-buzz status. I really can’t speak much to the quality of the publication personally, just from, well, buzz. It’s regarded highly out there as an intellectually stimulating magazine with important cultural influence.
Every time I have read it, I have profited. The writing is snappy without being pushy. The articles tend to be long, however, and my Internet-addled brain resists that… I’m trying to change that, however, so I read this article on my Kindle, a much better experience than sitting in front of a computer screen.