Blogging from England where the jet lag is keeping me awake, I'm going to disagree with Brother Nicholas about the relative readiness of the American public for action on global warming and health care. Looking at polls on the former issue, the good news is that Americans know that global warming is happening, and that cars and industry are responsible. The bad news is that they're completely unwilling to pay higher taxes to stop it. Higher gas taxes lose 32-67, while higher taxes on electricity get crushed 20-79. Things look a lot better when you ask them about some kind of CAFE feebate system, or about getting industry to design more carbon-efficient power plants. But anything that puts the costs on them runs smack into our species' tendency to discount future costs in favor of present gains. (Mildly relevant English anecdote: I was briefly astonished to see all the gas pumps with prices of .97 in London! Then I remembered that the prices weren't dollars per gallon, but pounds per liter.)
But people are willing to open their wallets for health care. A 64-35 majority answers yes when asked, "Do you think the government should provide a national health insurance program for all Americans, even if this would require higher taxes?" Talk about national health insurance for the kids, and you get a 73-25 majority. Health care isn't an issue where we're thinking about global catastrophe in decades -- it's one where we worry about losing a job or getting sick tomorrow. And that's why it has a greater grip on most Americans.
