Centered Politics: April 2009 Archives

"we need to come together, just as we've done in other great struggles--in World War II and the Cold War, in passing the great civil-rights laws of the 1960s, and in daring to send a man to the moon."

By Christin Hadley Snyder on April 29, 2009 11:27 PM | Comment

Senator Edward M. Kennedy Newsweek July 2009 ...
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Top 10 Reasons to Own a Cheap Bicycle.

By Sheri Rivlin and Allan Rivlin on April 29, 2009 4:55 PM | Comment

Please be patient while we get our connections working, you will be able to submit ideas soon. ...
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The 'Real Food' Movement -- The latest idea in food fashion has deep roots.

By Sheri Rivlin and Allan Rivlin on April 29, 2009 4:27 PM | Comment

We would love it if someone wrote up the history of the Real Food movement. It could include references to The Art of Simple Food by Alice Waters, Diet for a Small Planet by Francis Moore Lappe, and The Omnivore's Dillemna by Michael Pollan and perhaps Mark Bittman columns in the New York Times. Please be patient while we get our connections working, you will be able to submit ideas ...
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Highways and Medicare - Supply Creates Demand

By Jim Jaffe - Health Care Editor on April 29, 2009 9:58 AM | Comment

Health reformers risk forgetting the Field of Dreams fallacy as they wrestle with the question of whether our flawed medical delivery system is fueled by undersupply or overdemand. Some within the Obama administration fear we have too few physicians, particularly in the primary care area. But one thing we know about medicine is that supply generally drives demand, a relationship that's been proven repeatedly by Dartmouth researchers. Government data ...
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The Fear of Rationing Is Already Here

By Jim Jaffe - Health Care Editor on April 23, 2009 7:05 AM | Comment

We've barely started to discuss the specifics of health insurance reform and already confront a debate among the deaf. Consider the concerns of the Washington Times, which opines: "Nationalized health care puts bureaucrats - not doctors - in charge of deciding who needs what medical treatment. Rationing is inevitable under these schemes. That's one reason Mr. Obama's universal heath care plans must be stopped." The Washington Times makes a strong ...
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When Evidence Meets Pluralism

By Jim Jaffe - Health Care Editor on April 16, 2009 1:06 PM | Comment

Surprising resistance to the embrace of evidence-based medicine as part of health reform reflects a fear of binary and bureaucratic government regulations that ignore the dynamic nature of science. Some of these objections are defensive, but they nonetheless deserve a respectful and honest response, lest they fester to a point where they jeopardize progress.I've encountered three separate expressions of concern. The first was from conservative elements cable news/blogosphere community which ...
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What Is CenteredPolitics.com?

By Sheri Rivlin and Allan Rivlin on April 15, 2009 8:58 AM | Comment

CenteredPolitics.com is a website for calm and respectful discourse about public policy and politics. We believe it is unique more for its tone than for its political perspective. Co-Editors Sheri Rivlin and Allan Rivlin launched the site in 2008 because we could not find anything else like it on the World Wide Web and we invite others to help us expand the discussion. The underlying emotion of most American ...
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Transition to Comprehensive Health Care Reform

By AliceRivlin on April 5, 2009 12:18 PM | Comment

I. Introduction--what this paper is about I hope this paper will spark serious, constructive dialogue about decisions that must be made to move the United States toward comprehensive health care reform. That reform should have three objectives: 1. It should set the country on a clear path to universal coverage, even if coverage is broadened incrementally. Universal coverage means that everyone has a health plan that offers a standard ...
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Do You Want Fries With That Polypill

By Jim Jaffe - Health Care Editor on April 1, 2009 12:15 PM | Comment

It looks like the next big product at McDonald's will be the healthy, happy meal that will provide us with a Big Mac, a jumbo order of fries, a large Coke and perhaps a mini-pie as well as the new polypill created by the cardiac community that promises to reduce heart attacks and strokes by at least half. The pill would significantly improve our health to a point where we ...
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