Ivory Tower: Is Obama Reboot Necessary? Possible?

Ivory Tower: Is Obama Reboot Necessary? Possible?

That was main question being discussed on yesterday WCNY’s The Ivory Tower.

Hosted by David Rubin (Dean of the Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, this edition of The Ivory Tower featured a powerhouse panel including: Lisa Dolak (Syracuse University College of Law), Tim Byrnes (Colgate Univesity), Bob Greene (Cazenovia College), Tara Ross (Onondaga County Community College), and Kristi Andersen (Maxwell School of Syracuse University).

The panel also discussed the fiftieth anniversary of the assassination of John F. Kennedy. 

Here is a description of the program:

Should President Obama hit the re-set button and focus on 3 main issues? First, getting his judicial nominees approved, then leveling with the public about the extent of NSA spying and finally fixing the complicated healthcare overhaul. Then a look at the 50th anniversary of the assassination of JFK, and how history books are not treating the former President too kindly.

The Problem with Possibly Postponing the ACA’s Insurance Mandate

The Problem with Possibly Postponing the ACA’s Insurance Mandate

Yesterday, NPR’s Story of the Day podcast replayed a story from All Things Considered which discusses the problems created by the glitches in the governments Affordable Care Act (ACA) website. Some critics of the ACA are calling for a delay in the implementation of the insurance mandate.  If people cannot sign up for insurance with the government, how can the government penalize people for not having insurance?  As the story explains, the seemingly simple fix of delaying the insurance mandate is complicated. 

Here is are excerpts from the story: 

One of the big questions now circulating concerns what will happen if the website can’t be fixed soon. Will the government really penalize people for not having insurance if they can’t realistically buy it?

Technically, people are supposed to have coverage starting Jan. 1, 2014. But there’s a 90-day grace period, meaning you actually have until the end of March, which is also when the current open enrollment period ends. . . .

Even the administration says it wants to fix this. At a briefing Monday, White House spokesman Jay Carney said, “In terms of the Feb. 15 date that you just mentioned, there’s no question that there’s a disconnect between open enrollment and the individual responsibility time frames in the first year only. And those are going to be addressed.”

And if that mismatch does get changed, it would give people an additional month and a half to sign up without risking a penalty — and without extending the existing open enrollment date.

But what about the possibility of extending the enrollment period, which even some Democratsare now calling for if the website isn’t fixed soon? Or of waiving the penalty for the first year?

That’s where you start to run into big issues with the insurance companies that are offering these products in the exchanges. They set their premiums based on the rules as they’re written — that healthy young people would be strongly encouraged to sign up by the prospect of a penalty, and that they would be encouraged to sign up within this six-month window.

The Economics of Debt Ceiling, Affordable Care Act, Welfare

The Economics of Debt Ceiling, Affordable Care Act, Welfare

The most recent Planet Money podcast discussed the three most significant political issues of this past week—(1) the debt ceiling, (2) Affordable Care Act and (3) welfare system debates. Although discussion of the debt ceiling is somewhat dated (since we did not hit it), the story explains what is at stake in debt ceiling debates include the outcome of a possible default.

Here is a description of the podcast:

On today’s show: Three ripped-from-the-headlines stories from Planet Money.

What A U.S. Default Would Mean For Pensions, China, And Social Security

If the government defaults on its debt, people all over the world who have loaned the government money won’t get paid on time.

One Key Thing No One Knows About Obamacare

Obamacare won’t work unless healthy people buy insurance. No one knows whether they will.

Is Welfare A Rational Alternative To Work?

A new paper argues that the value of various welfare benefits add up to well over $30,000 a year. People on welfare disagree.

Sunday Funday: Obamacare vs. The Affordable Care Act

Jimmy Kimmel Live: Obamacare vs. The Affordable Care Act

In an effort to bring some levity to the blog, Sundays will feature  “Sunday Funday” posts, posts about the lighter side of public policy debates.  This week, we have the viral video from Jimmy Kimmel Live where people on the street are asked which they prefer: Obamacare or The Affordable Care Act.

Here is a description of the video from CBS:

As someone who covers entertainment and viral videos all day long, I am not going to pretend that I totally understand Obamacare, but I kind of hoped that the general public knew more than me (since I choose to stay out of politics as a rule), but this clip from Monday’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” demonstrates that we really don’t know what we’re talking about when it comes to this healthcare initiative. Watch the segment titled “Six of One” above, posted on Kimmel’s YouTube page, and be prepared to be disturbed.

This clip seemed particularly timely in the midst of all this government craziness, and it just seemed to scare me more. Were you shocked that people knew so little about Obamacare? Or that Obamacare and The Affordable Care Act were the same thing? Now, I know that this “data” is not scientific in the least, and they definitely chose clueless people on purpose, but it’s still a pretty shocking indication of what most people probably know and think.

But what I do like best about Kimmel, and the way he handled this social experiment is that no matter how dumb he may make people look, he’s always a good sport. As the woman who really seemed clueless on the segment was in the audience, and the late night host joked, “Welcome stupid people, you have a home here with me.” Always keeping it light, that’s what I like to see.