Column of the Day: Maxed Out on the Medicare Debate
Health Care

Column of the Day: Maxed Out on the Medicare Debate

AARON P. BERNSTEIN

Democrats have overdone it on the Medicare debate, writes New York Times columnist David Leonhardt:

“It’s time for the 2020 campaign — both the media and the candidates — to broaden its focus. Health care policy (health insurance policy, to be more specific) is obviously an important issue, but it’s not more important than climate change, voting rights and tax policy. So far, though, health care has received more debate time than all of those other topics combined.”

If a Democrat gets elected, Leonhardt argues, he or she may only have enough time to push through two big legislative priorities, and that’s only if we steer clear of another financial crisis. What should those priorities be? Here’s Leonhardt’s answer:

“Michael Linden, who runs the Groundwork Collaborative, a Washington group that advocates for a fairer economy, has a suggestion that seems right to me: One priority should be democratic reform, like voting rights. The other should be a major economic bill that increases taxes on the wealthy and spends the money helping the middle-class and poor and promoting economic growth.

“This second bill would include funding for clean energy, as well as limits on pollution. Depending on the politics, it might make sense to call the bill a Green New Deal.”

Read Leonhardt's full column here.

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