The Right's Health Care Fantasies by Froma Harrop
A real conservative would say: "Government should stay out of health care. Let Americans meet their medical needs in the free market." I respectfully disagree, but thanks for being clear.
Commentary by Froma Harrop
Most Recent Releases
November 29, 2011
November 22, 2011
Dirty Jobs Don't Have to Be Lousy Jobs By Froma Harrop
"Why Americans Won't Do Dirty Jobs" is the presumptuous headline on a Bloomberg Businessweek cover. The subject is Alabama's new no-tolerance policy toward illegal immigrants and the people who hire them.
November 17, 2011
Clean Energy Worth the Political Muck By Froma Harrop
Princely U.S. government subsidies have made developing wind, solar and other clean energy nearly risk-free to investors -- and that's bad. But the price of this domestically produced power has tumbled, thanks in part to such aid. That helps clean energy compete with the fossil kind, which is definitely good.
November 15, 2011
The Angst in Giving Thanks By Froma Harrop
Americans typically eat over 1,000 meals a year. But for many, Thanksgiving dinner seems to be the one that, like a magnet, gathers the iron shavings of every food anxiety. Why should that be? You'd think that this feast with family and friends would be accepted for what it is -- an innocent once-a-year gorge. In a country where disciplined eating is sadly lacking, why pile on the one time we traditionally throw caution to the wind?
November 10, 2011
Defining Poverty in the Land of Plenty By Froma Harrop
The "poverty issue" opens a vast highway system of social and economic observations headed in every direction. Some say poverty is a national disgrace. Some say it's the poor people's own fault. Some say the government must end it through bigger subsidies and more services for the poor -- others by reducing that help and instead expanding economic opportunity.
November 8, 2011
Andy Rooney Was Really Real By Froma Harrop
It was odd becoming a personal friend of Andy Rooney so late in his life and so far into my own. I'd seen him on "60 Minutes" for all 33 years, first while sitting on the rug in my parents' house. Through one of Andy's close friends and neighbors, I actually got to know him 10 years ago. To answer the question, "Was Andy really like that?" I say, "Yes, totally."
November 3, 2011
A Less Super America Will Be Happier By Froma Harrop
A perceived decline in "national greatness" haunts Americans of all political persuasions. Many equate it with the drop in our superpower status. But others ask, "Are the costs of perpetually commanding the high ground worth it?" Money we spend defending the world, others spend building fast trains.
October 27, 2011
The Dietary Supplement Scam Continues By Froma Harrop
Since I was a wee pill-popper, I've taken more vitamins and other supplements than I care to admit. If over the years I'd invested that money in an S&P 500 stock fund ... oh, well.
October 20, 2011
Domestic Misfits and Foreign Terrorists By Froma Harrop
When trying to make sense of terrorists, we examine their "causes." In the cases of Muslim terrorists, we search their religious views and political indoctrination. But when looking at other Americans who commit outrages not overtly tied to some creed, we tend to focus on their inner turmoil rather than their big-picture resentments.
October 18, 2011
Class Warfare: Q&A By Froma Harrop
Demands to let taxes rise for Americans topping the income charts have led to charges of "class warfare" by the usual Republican suspects. To move the conversation forward, here are some questions and answers:
October 13, 2011
The Street They Should Occupy By Froma Harrop
As "Occupy Wall Street" sweeps up attention, a smaller group is running something called Occupy K Street. If the goal is to loosen the financiers' grip over the American economy, the folks protesting on K Street are getting closer to bingo. K Street is Washington's famous boulevard of lobbyist influence, the place where money buys politicians to do money's bidding.
October 11, 2011
Why We Need More Government in Health Care By Froma Harrop
"Home-Health Firms Blasted." The headline refers to a Senate Finance Committee finding that major providers of home-based services to Medicare patients were bilking the government program. Big time.
October 4, 2011
Keystone XL Pipeline Not Worth The Risks By Froma Harrop
In Washington, D.C., conference rooms, the proposed pipeline running from Alberta, Canada, to Texas refineries on the Gulf of Mexico may look rather attractive. The 1,700-mile Keystone XL pipeline would supply the United States with abundant crude from a friendly neighbor. It would create 20,000 jobs, says owner TransCanada. And it would be reasonably safe for the environment, according to a U.S. State Department study.
September 29, 2011
Saving Civic Culture From Online Mayhem By Froma Harrop
More speech is not necessarily a positive development. News sites' online forums have unleashed speech in quantity, for sure. But they've given a stage to swarms of moronic insults and outright lies, most cloaked in anonymity or false identities. Such comments waste our time -- but of larger concern, they degrade the civic culture and undermine thoughtful attempts to craft public policy.
September 27, 2011
The Middle Class and Its Entitlements By Froma Harrop
To what are Americans entitled? Government-guaranteed health coverage in old age? Government-guaranteed health coverage at any age? Subsidized housing if they're low income? Subsidized food? Subsidies for growing wheat but not making shoes? Subsidies for homeowning?
September 22, 2011
The Housing Bust Has a Good Side By Froma Harrop
Anyone who has seen a friend kick an addiction -- be it to alcohol, drugs or cigarettes -- knows the extreme discomfort and force of will required. America has long suffered repeated bouts of binging on real estate. The booms inevitably trigger busts, one of which we're now in deep.
September 20, 2011
Obama Has It Right in Deficit Plan By Froma Harrop
President Obama's deficit-cutting plan is not perfect, but close to it. It's fiscally smart and politically smart.
September 15, 2011
Global Warming Is Here, All Right By Froma Harrop
Bark beetles and egrets don't care whether Governor This or Senator That believes in global warming. They feel it in their whatevers. Responding to warmer temperatures, plant and wildlife are moving north or uphill to cooler elevations, according to a new study published in Science magazine. For example, higher temperatures in the Rocky Mountains have set off a population explosion of bark beetles now devouring its beautiful pine forests.
September 13, 2011
Disapproval, of Course, Is a Relative Thing By Froma Harrop
If the 2012 election were held today, Republicans could very well have their heads handed to them. I do not think this alone. Their debt-ceiling high jinks were no doubt immensely amusing to the tea party fringe, but to those of us not getting the joke, they were an appalling attack on a fragile economy.
September 9, 2011
No Exit From the Realities of Sept. 11 By Froma Harrop
I remember Sept. 10, too. On that crisp night 10 years ago, friends and I went to hear Les Paul at a basement club in Times Square. The place was packed, and as was my habit in such settings, I quickly noted the fire exits.
