There long has been a debate among social policy advocates and politicians over which makes better policy and is more politically sustainable: universal programs like Social Security and Medicare or targeted ones like Medicaid and food stamps.
The assumption is that universal programs fare better as, by definition, they have more beneficiaries. Conventional wisdom has it that during the Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush presidencies, programs focused on the poor were shredded...
Opinion
Why Democrats are regaining momentum
This summer, high temperature records were shattered across the United States; wildfires burned millions of acres from Oklahoma to Alaska; droughts ravaged Western states, and floods devastated Appalachia. These disasters contributed to a sense of urgency that helped Democrats pass a boatload of bills, including the most sweeping climate change legislation in American history. In the run up to the midterm elections they have regained some momentum.
And the contrast with Congre...
Good news for Democrats continues to build — so now what?
window.loadAnvato({"mcp":"LIN","width":"100%","height":"100%","video":"7920175","autoplay":false,"expect_preroll":true,"pInstance":"p1","plugins":{"comscore":{"clientId":"6036439","c3":"thehill.com","version":"5.2.0","useDerivedMetadata":true,"mapping":{"c3":"thehill.com","ns_st_st":"hill","ns_st_pu":"Nexstar","ns_st_ge":"TheHill.com","cs_ucfr":""}},"dfp":{"adTagUrl":"https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?sz=1x1000&iu=/5678/nx.thehill/just_in/landing&ciu_s...
Inflation Reduction Act media tour won’t ease economic turmoil for ordinary Americans
The reports of President Biden’s resurgence are greatly exaggerated. On Tuesday, Biden signed into law the so-called Inflation Reduction Act, which the media are touting as a significant “Biden victory.” The press celebration is just the culmination of a broader public relations effort claiming the Biden presidency is gaining “momentum.”
Yet small businesses on the front lines of the economy tell a very different story of economic turmoil, which this tax-and-spend legislation ...
What the Inflation Reduction Act means for health care coverage
The health insurance measures in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) will allow millions of Affordable Care Act (ACA), commonly known as Obamacare, enrollees to keep their coverage — for now. That’s good. But the IRA is the latest chapter in the turbulent 12-year saga of the ACA. As such, it represents another incremental step in the long slog to stabilize and expand health coverage in the U.S. — the only wealthy nation on Earth that doesn’t guarantee its citizens some form of universal hea...
Despite primary ouster, expect to see Liz Cheney even more
window.loadAnvato({"mcp":"LIN","width":"100%","height":"100%","video":"7919759","autoplay":false,"expect_preroll":true,"pInstance":"p1","plugins":{"comscore":{"clientId":"6036439","c3":"thehill.com","version":"5.2.0","useDerivedMetadata":true,"mapping":{"c3":"thehill.com","ns_st_st":"hill","ns_st_pu":"Nexstar","ns_st_ge":"TheHill.com","cs_ucfr":""}},"dfp":{"adTagUrl":"https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?sz=1x1000&iu=/5678/nx.thehill/just_in/landing&ciu_s...
Want affordable health care? Make hospitals comply with posting prices online
The Biden administration and Congress are addressing spiraling costs of health care and health insurance by extending expanded pandemic-era Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies in the Inflation Reduction Act. Yet simply transferring rising costs to taxpayers does nothing to address the underlying health care unaffordability crisis. In fact, increasing subsidies makes it easier for health insurers to further raise premiums and pad their record profits. Major insurers have already announce...
What budget reconciliation could have been and what Congress must do next
Over the past few months, Congress has checked several important legislative boxes, including new gun safety measures, an expansion of healthcare for veterans and investments in the manufacturing sector. This has culminated with the final passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, the budget reconciliation bill that will make significant investments in addressing healthcare and climate change needs.
The recent productivity is notable and...
Democrats are on a dangerous path with drug pricing
The passage of Democrats’ sweeping economic package — which is designed to combat climate change, address health care costs and reduce the deficit by raising taxes on corporations — is a major win for President Biden’s agenda.
Further, Democrats’ push to pass a $35 insulin cap for non-Medicare patients was the right move both practically and politically — even though it was ultimately unsuccessful — as they forced Republicans to either side with them or to go on reco...
Talk about corporate welfare: Federal giveaways to wind, solar sectors are about to explode
The hype around the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, also known as the Manchin-Schumer bill, has been extraordinary. On Aug. 8, New York Times opinion columnist Paul Krugman published a piece headlined “Did Democrats Just Save Civilization?” in which he declared that “experts on energy and the environment are giddy over what has been accomplished” and the “world is a more hopeful place than it was just a few weeks ago.”
Five former Treasury secretaries declared that the measur...