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Health-care wonkery, the end of GSEs (and the SATS?), new ideas about Sudan, plus a little polling at the end, all in this week's Think Tank Roundup.
- More health-care plan analysis. The Urban Institute has recently conducted a comparative analysis of the pros and cons of the McCain and Obama health-care plans. Obama's plan would dramatically increase health-insurance coverage, substantially increase access to affordable and adequate coverage for those with the highest needs, significantly increase the affordability of care for the low-income, and reduce the growth in health spending. On the downside, his cost estimate might be somewhat low, his plan would leave 6 percent uninsured (necessitating the maintenance of the current inefficient safety-net system), and his employer mandate may engender significant political opposition. McCain's plan, by comparison, "represents a philosophical advance" in its methodology but seems to be heavily problematic in that his proposal would change how many obtain insurance, make coverage less accessible for those with health problems, have a high budget cost, and have little effect on the number of uninsured. -- ZA
- A man, a plan, Sudan. The ENOUGH anti-genocide coalition has released a new report on how to approach the humanitarian crisis in Sudan. John Prendergast and Colin Thoomas-Jensen argue that the ICC indictment of Sudanese leader Omar al-Bashir gives the next U.S. president more leverage in the conflict; both McCain and Obama have indicated a stronger stand and discussed using NATO to enforce a no-fly zone over the country. The report suggests that the next president should use that leverage to begin a new peace process built around Sudanese elections scheduled in 2009 and 2011. -- TF
- Damaging "duopolies". In a Cato Institute briefing, Arnold Kling excoriates the practice of government-sponsored enterprise (GSE), notably focusing on Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac. Kling laments that homeownership has been over-encouraged, allowing the Fannie-Freddie "duopoly" to enjoy government subsidy rather than spreading debt across a wider range. His primary suggestion is that regulators freeze the mortgage purchasing abilities of GSE's while simultaneously easing restrictions on smaller banks to hold low-risk mortagates.-- SW
- The end of the SAT? A report released by a commission of higher education experts recommends that admissions departments within colleges and universities should lessen their reliance on traditional standardized tests, and instead focus on exams more closely tied to high school curriculum and achievement. Many schools are already ahead of the curve, and more should follow suit -- this would encourage high schools to broaden and improve their curricula and give students an incentive to focus on their high school course material instead of on test prep courses. -- DH
- White knuckles go pink -- for Dems. Progressive group NDN recently released polls from swing states Florida, Colorado, New Mexico, and Nevada that show solid support for (NDN's interpretation of) Comprehensive Immigration Reform. Within the 50 pages of multicolored bar graphs, the polls bare a voting public that faults the federal government, rather than undocumented immigrants, for our immigration system's problems; and Obama, voters say, is the man for the job. If it seems trifling, NDN boldly suggests, "Given how close the election is, this [issue] may determine the outcome of the Presidential race itself." -- CP
-- TAP STAFF
