Or the “Affordable Climate Act”?
Two stories from the Wall Street Journal this morning gild my two posts from the last few days about what happens to liberal dreams when this thing called “reality” intrudes. First:
Exchanges See Little Progress on Uninsured
Early signals suggest the majority of the 2.2 million people who sought to enroll in private insurance through new marketplaces through Dec. 28 were previously covered elsewhere, raising questions about how swiftly this part of the health overhaul will be able to make a significant dent in the number of uninsured.
Insurers, brokers and consultants estimate at least two-thirds of those consumers previously bought their own coverage or were enrolled in employer-backed plans. . .
Only 11% of consumers who bought new coverage under the law were previously uninsured, according to a McKinsey & Co. survey of consumers thought to be eligible for the health-law marketplaces. . . One reason for people declining to purchase plans was affordability.
We shouldn’t be surprised that something called the “Affordable Care Act” would be anything but. And the number of uninsured Americans is now likely higher because of this law.
Story number 2:
EU Climate Targets to Stop Short of Ambitions
The European Union’s self-styled reputation as an environmental crusader is likely to take a bruising next week, when it will publish climate and energy goals expected to fall short of those demanded by some of its member states. . . The EU looks set to join industrialized nations such as Canada and Japan in reining in its green aspirations.
So let’s tally this up: we have a health care policy and a climate policy both falling short of “ambitions.” And for the exact same reason: reality just won’t conform to the will of liberalism. Darn reality anyway. Why don’t we just combine climate and health care policy into one big hairy policy, with a single “czar”? Oh, wait, we already have that: It’s called the “Obama Administration.”
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