Slog
News & ArtsTuesday, October 16, 2012
Media Dear Seattle Times Editorial Board
Posted by Dominic Holden on Tue, Oct 16, 2012 at 10:43 AM
You can't run around whining in spring that university tuition is spiking—"The state has slashed higher-education budgets by more than half since 2008," you guys complain, while admitting that "universities need the revenue"—and credibly endorse an Eyman initiative in fall to prevent raising the revenue actually needed to fund those schools.
This is why nobody can take your tax editorials seriously.
xo
Dom
4
If we read it, our comments might actually refer to what you write, rather than our fake arguments about why the sky is blue with fluffy white cotton balls.
8
This the same Times that uses the same intellectual dishonesty to print an "article" saying what I-1240, the charter school inititative, and then leaves out vital parts (like charters being able to takeover ANY existing school, failing or not).
Their lack of reasoning is breathtaking.
Their lack of reasoning is breathtaking.
9
They're just pandering to their audience, i.e., the majority of Washington voters, that have the same cognitive dissonance.
11
Yes, you can, and the way to do so is to return spending on poor people, which at the state level is mostly spending on medical care and which has massively surged as a share of the state budget in recent decades, back to the levels of say 20 years ago in real terms.
But, you say, isn't medical care much more expensive than 20 years ago even in real terms? No really for the same drugs and procedures as 20 years ago. The problem is that we insist on giving the indigent the same shiny new state of the art care as paying patients are buying.
But, you say, isn't medical care much more expensive than 20 years ago even in real terms? No really for the same drugs and procedures as 20 years ago. The problem is that we insist on giving the indigent the same shiny new state of the art care as paying patients are buying.
12
@11 "The problem is that we insist on giving the indigent the same shiny new state of the art care as paying patients are buying."
No.
I suppose your statement is technically true if you mean that by denying the indigent and anyone else without medical insurance actual medical care, causing health conditions to worsen and only guaranteeing financially ruinous medical interventions in the most expensive context, the emergency room, but I doubt you understand it that way.
I believe it is also true that leeches are now cheaper in real terms than when they were used medically, but despite a few interesting applications for tissue regeneration and attachment being explored, I hardly think we should reintroduce blood-letting as a general curative for the indigent.
The problem is that our medical sector incentives are not based on outcomes, overall health and patient satisfaction. Sure, we have the best medical whatevers that money can buy, but everything is about buying it.
Now, before you go crying, we don't have to remove market rewards for innovators, inventors or even purveyors of excellence to realize these savings. The huge savings in this sector can be realized by changing the incentives, enabling medical information flow and addressing issues in their early stages.
No.
I suppose your statement is technically true if you mean that by denying the indigent and anyone else without medical insurance actual medical care, causing health conditions to worsen and only guaranteeing financially ruinous medical interventions in the most expensive context, the emergency room, but I doubt you understand it that way.
I believe it is also true that leeches are now cheaper in real terms than when they were used medically, but despite a few interesting applications for tissue regeneration and attachment being explored, I hardly think we should reintroduce blood-letting as a general curative for the indigent.
The problem is that our medical sector incentives are not based on outcomes, overall health and patient satisfaction. Sure, we have the best medical whatevers that money can buy, but everything is about buying it.
Now, before you go crying, we don't have to remove market rewards for innovators, inventors or even purveyors of excellence to realize these savings. The huge savings in this sector can be realized by changing the incentives, enabling medical information flow and addressing issues in their early stages.
13
@6 no, it is meant to be read out loud by our Robotic Overlords.
@11 I think you mean rich old people. There, fixed it for you. That's where most of the medical care goes.
@11 I think you mean rich old people. There, fixed it for you. That's where most of the medical care goes.
Advertisement
Most Commented on Slog
-
Portland Voters Are Stoopid by Goldy
-
An I-5 Bridge Over the Skagit River Has Collapsed by Paul Constant
-
Rightwing Anti-Gay French Activist Commits Suicide at Notre Dame Cathedral by Dan Savage
-
Why They Break Windows by Unpaid Intern
-
Spoiled Rotten: Star Trek Into Darkness by Paul Constant
-
Usually When I'm Sent a Photoshopped Image of a Gun Pointed At Me... by Dan Savage
-
There Are No Atheists In Foxholes by Dan Savage
-
Tornado Truthers by Dan Savage
-
SL Letter of the Day: Did You Think I Was Going To Tell You Not To Come Out? (PLUS: Help Free Kate!) by Dan Savage
-
SL Letter of the Day: Have You Ever Heard of...? by Dan Savage
Stranger Personals
The Stranger
RSSSeattle Art & Performance Quarterly
A complete guide to Seattle's current art, film, dance, and theater season.
Facebook
Twitter
Comments (13) RSS