Andrew’s Miracle Drug

Hello, gentle readers. Despite the dearth of recent posts, I continue to receive some visits on a daily basis. I’m glad that some body still thinks I have something of worth to say after nearly four months of blogging.

But I need to put my blogging on a temporary hiatus. Between work, grad school, and a coming baby (in about 6 weeks I’ll be a daddy!), I just don’t have enough time and focus to write much these days.

There will be sporadic posts over the next couple of months, but my blogging probably won’t resume in earnest until the end of April or so, when the semester ends and my wife and I have adjusted a bit to being parents.

In the mean time, for your fill of insightful blogging on Utah politics, please visit the Utah Bloghive, an aggregator of Utah-focused blogs.

If LDS (Mormon issues) are more your thing, check out my favorite LDS-centric blog aggregator, Mormon Blogs.

You’ll be hearing from me again. Until then, good luck navigating on the Information Superhighway.

Since Utah state senator Chris Buttars’ “black baby” remarks last week, the whole state has been up in arms. So much so that they’ve formed a “hate lynch mob” in response. Yes, that’s a direct quote from Buttars today.

There’s really only one explanation for Buttars’ incredible choice of words here. He is, I think, an ironist, a provocateur. He’s trying to remind us all of the many injustices and both the overt and subtle racism African-Americans have faced for centuries; to remind us that February is Black History Month.

Mission accomplished, Buttars.

The health care debate is a dizzying one, to be sure. Each side spouts its facts and statistics with supreme self-assurance, and reasonable people on all sides of the argument can make coherent arguments for their preferred solution.

But one argument I’ll never understand is the “free market solutions” apporach to health care. Health care is too expensive for the average American to purchase on their own, and thus employers have picked up the burden. But it seems to me that eliminating health care expenses would be a boon to American business, and thus boost the overall economy.

And in fact, that’s true, according to Sara Robinson:

Toyota and GM have both moved plants to Canada in recent years, in large part to avoid the spiraling costs of insuring American workers…As long as $900 of every car GM makes is going to supply health care to the people who make it, the US’s current system of employer-based health care is going to continue to drive skilled jobs out of the country.

The entire article is a body slam of the free-market in health care argument.

While I wouldn’t go as far to argue that health care is not a market, it certainly doesn’t behave as we like markets to: barriers to entry are extremely high, asymmetries of information abound,  actors are rarely rational (think of the recently diagnosed cancer patient), etc.

But now, thanks to Robinson, I can answer those claims of reduced innovation and rationing that free-marketeers love to throw into the debate.

Be sure to catch Part I of “Mythbusting Canadian Health Care,” too for some.

Via Ezra.

Yet more reasons to vote for Obama.

Despite earlier calls for compassion by LDS Church leaders, in discussing immigration, the Utah state legislature continues to pursue punitive legislation against the “strangers who dwell amongst [us].”

This isn’t entirely surprising, as Utah’s legislators have developed something of a reputation for insensitivity and, dare I say, idiocy.

But even in the wake of the legislature’s stunning recalcitrance, LDS church leaders have reissued their call for compassion and deliberation in the debate, with Elder Marlin Jensen of the Seventy stating that “with decisions hanging in the balance that have such significant consequences, I believe that a more thoughtful…not to mention more humane, approach is warranted.” He went on to urge lawmakers to “measure twice before they cut.”

But Elder Jensen, some legislators might be tempted to mutter, is a known Democrat.

That may be true, but he was speaking not merely as a Democrat, but as a representative of the First Presidency. Key quote:

While repeating the mantra that the LDS church generally takes no position on political issues, Jensen noted that immigration was not strictly a political issue but a moral and ethical one. And as such, he said, he was not simply speaking for himself, or even for the Quorum…”I was assigned to come here by the First Presidency of the church,” he said.

Elder Jensen was joined by other local religious leaders, who made similar pleas for compassion.

Why, I wonder, do legislators find it so easy to follow the Church’s lead on alcohol legislation, but so difficult on issues that more truly reflect on our Christian identity?

 UPDATE: Matt B. has some interesting observations on this over at Mormon Mentality.

Following hot on the heels of a proposal to incentivize public transport usage on yellow- and red-burn days comes another eco-conscious bill.

Rep. Roz McGee (D-SLC) has sponsored a bill that would give a $1,000 tax credit to citizens who purchase high-gas mileage cars.

The criteria for “high-gas mileage” is described by the Tribune as “meet[ing] or exceed[ing] current air quality and fuel-economy standards.”

Again, kudos to legislators who are working to create incentives for citizens to adopt more eco-friendly behaviors.

Yesterday at school I caught a few minutes of CNN coverage of Super-Duper Mega-Fantastic Wicked-bad Tuesday.  It reminded me of pre-game coverage of the Mega Bowl - breathless commentary interspersed with non-sequiturs.

But what’s really important in a primary - delegate allocation - seems to have gotten lost in the orgy of banal analyses.

I’ve seen several different delegate  counts - most slightly favoring Clinton and one favoring Obama. But how ever it ultimately shakes out, it will be close; and probably much closer than the Clinton camp wanted.

Obama is still very much in this, and at least one commentator believes that the primaries and caucuses ahead actually favor Obama.

Utah State Rep. Wayne Harper (R-West Jordan) is breaking the Utah Legislator mold. He’s actually drafted meaningful legislation to induce use of public transportation.

Harper’s bill would reduce and eliminate bus fares on yellow- and red-burn days, respectively. The aim, Harper says, is two-fold: reduce congestion and reduce pollution.

This seems to me to be a great idea, and a great way to incentivize public-transport usage. For all of Republicans’ talk about using free-market mechanisms to improve air quality (and the environment, to a larger extent), it seems that Harper has finally struck the right idea: using free-market mechanisms along with state-run services to induce citizens to alter their behavior.

Good on ya, Rep. Harper! Good on ya!

Fiscal restraint, that is. And to make matters worse, it’s in all the wrong places.

President George Bush released his budget proposal for the 2009 fiscal year, which includes huge cuts in health care programs, teaching programs, housing assistance, and yes, even in the wake of the Crandall Canyon Mine disaster, mine safety cuts.

These cuts probably won’t give many Americans the boost of confidence they’re hoping for as recession looms.

Rather than pumping money into the economy, putting it into ever-tightening pockets, Bush is shoving a feeding tube into the already-bloated belly of the Defense Department.

How much is he allocating for military spending? A staggering $713 billion.

Oh, and the deficit? Still at $400 billion this year and next; . Rather than restoring the tax rates on the highest earners to pre-2003 levels, Bush is requesting that his tax cuts be made permanent.

Be sure to thank your grandchildren for paying our debts.

With all the Super Tuesday hype, it’s easy to forget that our state legislature is currently in session.

Oh yeah. those guys. (more…)