La présidente de la Chambre des représentants Nancy Pelosi s'est montrée très enthousiaste aujourd'hui en prédisant qu'un vote final sur la réforme du système de santé américain aura lieu la semaine prochaine. On verra bien si cette prédiction se réalisera. En attendant, Paul Krugman défend dans sa chronique du jour la réforme, s'attaquant à trois «mythes» répandus par ses critiques. J'en cite un extrait dans le texte :
Which brings me to the third myth: that health reform is fiscally irresponsible. How can people say this given Congressional Budget Office predictions - which, as I've already argued, are probably too pessimistic - that reform would actually reduce the deficit? Critics argue that we should ignore what's actually in the legislation; when cost control actually starts to bite on Medicare, they insist, Congress will back down.
But this isn't an argument against Obamacare, it's a declaration that we can't control Medicare costs no matter what. And it also flies in the face of history: contrary to legend, past efforts to limit Medicare spending have in fact "stuck," rather than being withdrawn in the face of political pressure.
(Photo AP)