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This week's TTR features yet another way to pay for health care reform, an examination of why the old feel young out West, a look ahead to next week's presidential election in Afghanistan, and the latest news on the housing market.
- Another way to pay for healthcare. The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities has a new report detailing the potential for an excise tax on high-cost insurance plans to pay for health care reform; they also find evidence that the measure would help control costs. The tax would only affect expensive insurance plans that exceed thresholds of around $10,000 for a sing policy and $25,000 for a family policy. -- TF
- Out West, the old feel young. A new study from the Pew Institute finds that older Americans living in the West feel younger on average than individuals in other regions of the U.S. The difference is greatest between the West, with 21 percent of those 65 and older feeling old, and the Midwest, where 34 percent of those 65 and older feel old. There is also a higher percentage of elderly in excellent/good health than in the rest of the country. The study also looked at city, suburb, and rural differences and found that individuals living in the suburbs were more likely to feel sad, depressed, or lonely and that older Americans living in rural communities were more likely to be very satisfied with their number of friends. -- CIA
- After the Afghan election. Bruce Reidel, a Brookings foreign policy expert, led one of the first Obama administration reviews of strategy in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Here's a video of Reidel discussing the next steps in Afghanistan, including the focus on next week's Presidential election. -- TF
- Home prices almost bottom out. The Center for Economic and Policy Research teamed up with the National Low Income Housing Coalition to analyze the latest data on the housing markets, which suggests that although we have nearly hit bottom after home prices fell more than 32.3 percent in major metropolitan areas, a "persistent slump" may yet continue. The authors recommend a number of policy proposals, including the Right to Rent, which would allow foreclosed homeowners to continue living in their homes while paying rent. -- TF
