I learned that half of all bankruptcies in the United States are caused by medical bills, courtesy of Rebecca's link. I wish I had learned this from John Kerry about six months ago. This is the core of the health care debate in this country, not edge-case stem cell research.
Modern political organizations have fantastic research resources available to them, but they squander these resources on finding weaknesses in their opponents. The reality is, Americans still make their political decisions based on issues. We've had questionable people holding positions in every level of political office, but regular folks don't care if they agree with the core goals of the candidate. (This is why conservatives got so frustrated with Clinton's personal life and liberals today are bugged by Bush's inarticulacy. Neither is a fatal flaw, but both are among the most egregious ways to offend the opposition.)
A similarly useful demonstration of the power that research could have on civic life is the results of data mining from urban 311 services. They're one of the many reasons that I think that quality of life is higher in cities than in suburban and rural areas, and one of the key reasons 311 programs succeed is because they provide honest, unbiased raw data with which officials can make decisions.
It's no accident that 311 services are, at their core, about increasing communication within a community. What's amazing is that civic institutions have never really had a simple, measurable feedback system in the past, except perhaps a box for accepting comment cards at City Hall. (Civic meetings tend to be filled full of atypical squeaky wheels.)
Good data often makes good choices obvious. Focusing political and civic research to concentrate on gathering data that can actually improve quality of life would improve politics. Maybe we just need a Scientific Method political party.
Anil, you should write this up as an OpEd.
Right! Getting sick makes them go broke
Eventually, Ms Gibbons declared bankruptcy over her medical bills. Ms Lisa Adams' high medical bills left her dangling from a financial cliff. She was burdened by nearly US$100,000 in debt, mainly due to a difficult pregnancy.
Medical Bills Induce Many Bankruptcies Los Angeles Times (subscription)
Medical bills driving thousands into bankruptcy The Citizen's Voice
Study: Medical bills account for half of bankruptcies Munster Times
Cleveland Plain Dealer - Axis of Logic - all 258 related »
But why is it the government's job to solve these problems? Health care costs started to sky rocket when the government got into the health care business. Almost everybody could afford catastrophic health insurance in the fifties and early sixties. It makes no sense to ask the government to solve a problem they created in the first place.
I'm normally left of center but I also wonder how much the government needs to get involved here. Relatively inexpensive catastrophic health insurance is readily available. Even mandating such seems like government over-reaching. But then the government is probably bailing out the bankruptcies so I guess it just comes down to where the government steps in.