Health Care NOW! (Paul Krugman)

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/30/opinion/30krugman.html

The whole world is in recession. But the United States is the only wealthy country in which the economic catastrophe will also be a health care catastrophe — in which millions of people will lose their health insurance along with their jobs, and therefore lose access to essential care.

Which raises a question: Why has the Obama administration been silent, at least so far, about one of President Obama’s key promises during last year’s campaign — the promise of guaranteed health care for all Americans?

Let’s talk about the magnitude of the looming health care disaster.

Just about all economic forecasts, including those of the Obama administration’s own economists, say that we’re in for a prolonged period of very high unemployment. And high unemployment means a sharp rise in the number of Americans without health insurance.

After the economy slumped at the beginning of this decade, five million people joined the ranks of the uninsured — and that was with the unemployment rate peaking at only 6.3 percent. This time the Obama administration says that even with its stimulus plan, unemployment will reach 8 percent, and that it will stay above 6 percent until 2012. Many independent forecasts are even more pessimistic.

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WTF!! I know we're all desperate for these things, but does he have to do everything in the first month?

I think Krugman needs to realize that, just because he won the Nobel prize, it does not make him an expert on everything.

It should be the absolute very first priority and not some after thought. This is our number one economic challenge and is the basis for all other problems. American business is unable to compete with the playing field so unlevel. All the Companies we have to compete against don't have the HUGE expense of providing Health Insurance for employees as American Companies do. Their governments take care of their citizens. It isn't left up to the Free Market.

What you wrote has nothing to do with my criticism of Krugman.

Has he ever had anything positive to say about Obama?

everything Obama does or does not do, but overall he much prefers Obama to Bush. Also, Krugman looks at things from a academic point of view, rather than a political reality view.