This and That

Intense
The marketplaces would intensify competition, she said, adding, “When plans have to compete side by side and it’s very transparent, that in and of itself drives prices down.” (NYT, 4/12/2013)

HHS secretary Kathleen Sebelius tries to explain how capitalism works...and gets it wrong.

Capitalism does NOT work when the government gets involved, dictating who insurance companies should cover (everyone, for example), what services they should provide for free (lots of them), and how much they should charge (not too much). 


Chain Chain Chain
First, the proposal — “chained CPI,” a change in the way inflation is measured — is very small. It reduces Social Security by a quarter of a penny on the dollar — a $2,000 check reduced by a five-dollar bill.

Second, the change is merely technical. The White House itself admits that the result is simply a more accurate measure of inflation. It’s not really cutting anything. It merely eliminates an unintended overpayment. (Charles Krauthammer, Washington Post, 4/11/2013)

It is always good to quantify things. Here Krauthammer tells us the impact of the chained CPI proposal which will wreak untold havoc on the well being of the poor....according to Liberals. 


Proportionality
Consider out-of-wedlock births. In 1980, about 18 percent of births were to unmarried women; by 2009, the proportion was 41 percent.  (Robert J. Samuelson, Washington Post, 4/14/2013)

What shocks you more, dear reader? That the illegitimacy rate is now 41%....or that 30 years ago it was almost 20%?!?!