1
Opinion
Devising a Strategy for Climate Change
Readers respond to an editorial calling for executive action.
2
Style
A Billionaire on Working Mothers: Babies Kill Women's Focus
Paul Tudor Jones, a hedge-fund manager, on mothers in his workplace: “As soon as that baby’s lips touched that girl’s bosom, forget it.”
3
U.S.
States’ Policies on Health Care Exclude Poorest
For millions of people below the poverty line, no assistance for health insurance will be available in states that have refused to expand Medicaid.Obamacare Will Be A Debacle — For Republicans
The Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, is
a policy Rube Goldberg device — instead of doing the simple, obvious
thing, which would just be to insure everyone, it basically relies on a
combination of regulations and subsidies to rope, coddle, and nudge us
into a rough approximation of a single-payer system. There were reasons
for this, of course, mainly political: a complete displacement of the
existing system would have been both too destructive of powerful
interests and too radical for voters.
Still, the question is whether this cobbled-together system will work, and there have been many conservatives rubbing their hands with glee over the prospect of failure.
Whoops.
We won’t really know how Obamacare works until it has been in operation for a while; but we do know that essentially the same system has been running in Massachusetts since 2006, and is doing pretty well. The question, then, is whether other states that don’t have MA’s initial advantages — especially an already low uninsurance rate and an already operating system of community rating — can make this thing work. The big fear has been of sharply rising premiums as insurers are required to cover people with preexisting conditions. And the biggest test case was always going to be California.
Well, the preliminary numbers for CA are in — and they’re looking very good, with costs coming in below expectations. At this point, it looks as if this thing is indeed going to work.
And think about the political dynamics. Because the Supreme Court decided to let states opt out of the Medicaid expansion, some states — notably Texas — will have a pretty dysfunctional version of Obamacare in 2014, although even those systems will provide significant benefits to many people. Still, the whole political calculus was supposed to be that Republicans in red states could point to the horrors of Obamacare and ride them to political victory. Instead, it looks as if we’re going to see blue-state residents reaping the benefits of a functional health care system, while red-state residents are denied many of those benefits, for what looks like no better reason than mean-spirited spite — because what’s going on is, indeed, mean-spirited spite.
Predictions that Obamacare will be a big political issue are probably right — but not in the way gleeful conservatives imagined."
Still, the question is whether this cobbled-together system will work, and there have been many conservatives rubbing their hands with glee over the prospect of failure.
Whoops.
We won’t really know how Obamacare works until it has been in operation for a while; but we do know that essentially the same system has been running in Massachusetts since 2006, and is doing pretty well. The question, then, is whether other states that don’t have MA’s initial advantages — especially an already low uninsurance rate and an already operating system of community rating — can make this thing work. The big fear has been of sharply rising premiums as insurers are required to cover people with preexisting conditions. And the biggest test case was always going to be California.
Well, the preliminary numbers for CA are in — and they’re looking very good, with costs coming in below expectations. At this point, it looks as if this thing is indeed going to work.
And think about the political dynamics. Because the Supreme Court decided to let states opt out of the Medicaid expansion, some states — notably Texas — will have a pretty dysfunctional version of Obamacare in 2014, although even those systems will provide significant benefits to many people. Still, the whole political calculus was supposed to be that Republicans in red states could point to the horrors of Obamacare and ride them to political victory. Instead, it looks as if we’re going to see blue-state residents reaping the benefits of a functional health care system, while red-state residents are denied many of those benefits, for what looks like no better reason than mean-spirited spite — because what’s going on is, indeed, mean-spirited spite.
Predictions that Obamacare will be a big political issue are probably right — but not in the way gleeful conservatives imagined."
6
Business Day
British Village Protests Plan for Shale Gas Drilling
An energy company's plan to drill an exploratory shale-gas well in the bucolic area of Balcombe, England has galvanized residents.
7
Opinion
Get Churches Out of Public Schools
New York City rightly prohibits the use of public schools for regular religious services. The City Council wants to change that.
8
N.Y. / Region
A 'Sphere' That Has Taken a Year to Roll Nowhere
The “Sphere,” a sculpture by Fritz Koenig, was to have been moved from Battery Park in the late spring of 2012, but it appears there are no plans to relocate it.
9
Opinion
Dot Chat: From Energy Campaigners to Solar Finance Entrepreneurs
An online conversation with a young energy activist turned solar entrepreneur.
10
Opinion
Stop-and-Frisk on Trial
Closing arguments in the case helped bring to light numerous problems with the New York Police Department’s controversial program.
11
U.S.
Budget Dispute Deepens a Rift Within G.O.P.
Republicans are locked in a growing dispute over future budget negotiations, splitting along generational and ideological lines on the party’s approach to dealing with the federal debt.
12
Autos
Cadillac to Recall SRX Models for Wheel Problem; Triumph and Nissan Issue Recalls
No problems have been reported on customer vehicles, but Cadillac said it found some vehicles in its fleet with loose lug nuts.
13
U.S.
Oregon: Fluoride Measure in Portland Is Defeated
Voters in Portland, Ore., defeated a measure on Tuesday to add fluoride to the water supply by a 60-to-40 percent margin.
14
Opinion
Exercise and Academic Performance
Physical activity should be a core educational concern, not a dispensable option.
15
Opinion
Weak on Food Inspection
Food and Water Watch responds to a news article about the rise in illnesses from imported foods.
16
Home & Garden
The Hard Road to a Vegetable Plot
Before planting a vegetable garden, a plot of land must be cleared. The author’s challenge involved dislodging old beach rose shrubs with stubborn roots.
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Booming
Come See Me in the Country This Summer. I’m Begging.
“I have a thing about summer in the country which is kind of a Don Juan complex with grass: I want it, I want it, I want it, and then when I get it I’m bored.”
19
Technology
Laurene Powell Jobs and Anonymous Giving in Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley’s billionaires have long been criticized for not giving away enough money, but there are signs that some, like the widow of Steve Jobs, are instead choosing to do it anonymously, and paving the way for a new type of philanthropy.
20
Opinion
Agricultural Research
Catherine Woteki, the Agriculture Department’s chief scientist, responds to articles about threats to our food supply and environment.
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4
N.Y. / Region
A 'Sphere' That Has Taken a Year to Roll Nowhere
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7
Opinion
Stop-and-Frisk on Trial
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12
U.S.
Student Loan Bill Passes House, Setting Up Face-Off
The bill would head off a doubling of interest rates, instead tying the rates to prevailing market trends, an approach not favored by Senate Democrats.
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14
Business Day
Some in Congress Grow More Wary of Selling Sprint to SoftBank of Japan
National security concerns are rooted in SoftBank’s relationship with Chinese telecommunications equipment manufacturers.
15
U.S.
A Sleeper Scandal Awakens for Obama, Post-Election
A year ago, when the current Internal Revenue Service scandal that has swirled around President Obama first emerged, Washington — and, apparently, the White House — shrugged.
16
Opinion
When America Stops Importing Energy
America’s imminent self-sufficiency in energy is a major game changer for global geopolitics and economics.
17
N.Y. / Region
Doctor Gets Eight Years in L.I.R.R. Fraud Scheme
Dr. Peter J. Ajemian pleaded guilty in January in a plot that allowed hundreds of retired railroad workers collect disability benefits they weren’t entitled to.
18
Opinion
Paths to Reliable Medical Justice
Readers react to an Op-Ed essay that said medical malpractice suits promote patient safety.
20
World
New Computer Attacks Traced to Iran, Officials Say
The recent attacks seem to be aimed at sabotage rather than stealing information, United States officials say.
1
N.Y. / Region
Turning Lives Around, and Saving the State Money
Teofilo Ramos, caught selling heroin but sent to treatment rather than prison, exemplifies the success of New York’s reform of the Rockefeller drug laws.
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5
Opinion
Rich Tourist, Poor Tourist
Since the birth of leisure travel, holidays have been marked by extremes of luxury.
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11
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N.Y. / Region
Doctor Gets Eight Years in L.I.R.R. Fraud Scheme
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Business Day
The Curious Case of the European Vodka Seller
A super-speedy prepackaged bankruptcy and a choice for convertible noteholders — all in Delaware.
17
Home & Garden
Moving Past the Latest Smartphone
Geoff Manaugh, the new editor of Gizmodo, on adding urbanism, architecture and design to the popular tech blog.
18
Opinion
Obama’s Gitmo Problem
It isn’t Congress’s fault that the prison in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, hasn’t closed. It’s the president’s.
19
World
Ukraine: Gay Pride Rally Banned
A Ukrainian court on Thursday banned what would have been Ukraine’s first gay pride demonstration.
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