Remember the old saying that the Chinese word for "crisis" means both "danger" and "opportunity"?
I recently suggested in passing that with the government on the hook for hundreds of billions, at least in the near term, to prop up the economy, we might not see anything approaching significant health-care reform even with a new president and new Congress.
I don't pretend to be an expert. But the Wall Street Journal's blog, of all places, links to some folks who explain why the economic crisis might make major health-care reform more, not less, likely. For one thing, the cry "Socialized medicine!" starts to look pretty silly, or at least a lot less dangerous, when the government is socializing financial markets to a degree that used to lead us to foment coups d'etat when other countries did it.
Are these writers right?/Am I wrong? I don't know. But it almost certainly may be the case that the economic events of the past few weeks will change the plans of the powers that be regarding health care, for good or ill. And that's as far out on that particular limb as I and my limited powers of foresight are prepared to go.
