Day: July 29, 2009

Americans Hope Palin Will Stay in the Kitchen

Trish

After demonstrating she most emphatically cannot take the heat, a new poll shows most Americans think Sarah Palin should stay in the kitchen. FOX News, of all places, reports the numbers.

About a third of Americans think the best job for Palin is homemaker

About a third of Americans think the best job for Palin is homemaker (32 percent), while nearly one in five see her as a television talk show host (17 percent). Vice president of the United States comes in third (14 percent), followed closely by college professor (10 percent), with president coming last (6 percent).

Even Republicans don’t see a “Pres. Palin” as optimal.

Republicans think the best job for Palin is vice president (27 percent), followed by homemaker (18 percent), talk show host (14 percent), president (12 percent) and professor (7 percent).

The better we know Palin, it seems, the less we like her.

More Americans have a negative view of Palin than have a positive one. While 38 percent say they have a favorable opinion of her, 51 percent have an unfavorable view…

The last time views of Palin were tested voters were evenly divided: 45 percent viewed her favorably and unfavorably (31 March-1 April 2009). When Palin was first introduced to the country as Arizona Sen. John McCain’s running mate in September 2008, 54 percent had a positive opinion of her — double the 27 percent who said they had a negative opinion.

The poll also shows Republicans are still in search of a front-runner for the 2012 presidential election. A cult member is their top pick, and it just goes downhill from there.

Among Republicans, Palin is their third choice when read a list of potential candidates for the 2012 nomination. Former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney takes the top spot (22 percent), though he bests former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee by just one point (21 percent). Palin receives the backing of 17 percent and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giluiani comes in at 13 percent. The remaining candidates receive single-digit support.

Public Option Could Save Billions on Non-Emergency Treatment in ERs

Jon Ponder

One of the most pernicious dysfunctions of the current health care system is that it often puts uninsured people, particularly workers with low and mid-level incomes, in the position of going to emergency rooms for treatment for non-emergency medical problems. This not only puts additional stress on emergency services, it is the least effective way to deliver non-emergency treatment, since ER doctors don’t know patients’ medical histories and rarely have access to their records.

As the debate over health care reform plays out in Washington, we’re hearing a lot from opponents of reform about the cost of government insurance but little in the way of countervailing arguments from proponents about savings.

The proper setting for non-emergency care is in the offices of doctors who provide primary care. Formerly known as “family doctors,” these physicians generally see patients on an ongoing basis and are best at diagnosing and prescribing the right treatments. However, doctors almost always require that their patients have some sort of insurance before they’ll take them on.

Emergency rooms are not only least effective and efficient treatment settings for primary care, they are the most expensive. The average ER visit costs $359 — more than double the $129 average cost of a primary care visit. But because hospitals, unlike primary care clinics, are legally bound to treat everyone who shows up, thousands of uninsured people seek primary care treatment in ERs every day, a phenomenon that needlessly adds billions to the overall cost of health care every year.

With a public option — a government insurance plan similar to Medicare, Medicaid and the coverage provided to the military, veterans, members of Congress and federal employees — people who can’t afford insurance now would be covered, and so would have access to primary care. This would not only improve the overall quality of health care and reduce stress on overburdened emergency rooms nationwide, it would eliminate billions in emergency services fees charged to those who can least afford them.

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