by Nicholas Beaudrot of Electoral Math
Pop culture and public policy merge again. Seattle, has produced Modest Mouse, Death Cab for Cutie [Or are they from Bellingham? –ed], Pretty Girls Make Graves, and The Divorce, as well as a large cadre of more local indie bands. It's really quite a feat, when you consider that our lack of universal health care puts the US indie rock industry at a disadvantage compared to Canada & the UK. But never fear! To compensate for the insurance gap, local artists now have their own non-profit whose job it is to help them navigate fundraising, payment & care options for serious health care problems. The good folks at Reason will point to the existence of Bad Fruit (which strikes me as an odd choice for a non-profit name, but whatever) as another triumph of free choice altruism, but this is insane. If I'm sick or injured, I'd really rather spend my energy figuring out how to get healthy again, not how to find a venue to host my benefit fundraiser or qualify for charity care.
Interestingly, though, the data suggest that indie rockers are not significantly more uninsured than the rest of the public. Perhaps it's because Starbucks provides health insurance for even its part-time workers, putting upward pressure on barista benefits in the local labor market.
