The Opinion Blog

Tethered to the Cost Curve

Thursday’s editorial contemplates the fact that, in a disheartening illustration of how Washington works, the “massive overhaul” of health care just isn’t going to have much effect on most Americans.

Democrats have made much hay this week over a report released Monday that says their health-reform legislation won't do much to increase health insurance premiums for the vast majority of Americans, contrary to the frightening claims made all year by Republicans.

But the report is not actually such great news. Why? Because the Democrats are right; the premiums won't change much for most workers: They're going to keep going up.

Speak up, Sen. Graham

Saturday's editorial encourages U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham to be a more forceful advocate for the health-care reforms he advocates.

U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham may be among the most sensible voices today in the nation's out-of-control health care debate - so it's too bad he's speaking so quietly.

Dr. DeMint's Sugar Pill, Part 2: Unfunded, inadequate and unambitious

Sunday's editorial adds practical criticisms to Saturday's conceptual critique of U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint's "Health Care Freedom Plan:"

As we explained Saturday, the most serious weakness of Sen. Jim DeMint's "Health Care Freedom Plan" is its lack of strong mechanisms to control out-of-control medical inflation. But within the plan itself, specific elements also have deficiencies of their own.

Dr. DeMint's Sugar Pill, Part 1: A Band-Aid is not enough

Saturday's editorial is first of a two-part analysis of U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint's "Health Care Freedom Plan:"

When U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint brought his prescription for a "Health Care Freedom Plan" last week to a restaurant full of area conservatives ailing from an Obamacare overdose, his promises sounded like a free-market cure-all: Tax cuts! Access for everyone! No cost to the taxpayer! And all this in one little bottle!

Electricity costs up

Wednesday's second editorial points out remaining opportunities to comment on an upcoming electricity-rate hike.

Santee Cooper customers still have a couple of opportunities to comment on the state-owned utility's proposed rate increase, the first in 13 years.

Great Depression far worse than we can imagine

From the afternoon e-mail ... What the Great Depression was really like from someone who lived through it:

By James V. Wyman       

Bank failures, mortgage foreclosures, the melting of pensions and 401K nest eggs by 20 percent or more, people limiting their purchases to bare essentials, have invited comparisons to the early days of the Great Depression.

But as grim as the future looks now, it is unlikely to come anywhere close to producing the overpowering cloud of raw fear, hopelessness and despair experienced by those who lived through the decade of the Great Depression from the storied stock market crash of October 1929 through 1939.