A Weblog of Centrist Voices in American Politics
|
|
|
A Weblog of Centrist Voices in American Politics | |
|
November 16, 2006Target practice anyoneIn preparation for our upcoming Democratic congress I thought it might be worth looking at what industries might be in the crosshairs. Which industries need more government regulation. Well, a good start would be to find out what John Q. Public wants. (You wouldn't want to pass unpopular legislation.) As a start I found this recent Harris poll. A represenatative sample was asked which industries (of a list of industries, currently 17) they think should be more regulated by government. "Survey says... 48 percent of adults favor stronger regulation of "pharmaceutical and drug companies," down from 57 percent, 55 percent and 51 percent who felt this way in 2003, 2004 and 2005, respectively. While Republicans (40%) are less likely than Democrats (54%) or Independents (51%) to favor stronger regulation, the difference is not very largeNow to be fair Oil companies still lead the pack with 54% of those surveyed feeling they should experience greater regulation. I mean, I can do without my heart medicine, but stop driving my car... Closer to home (I work for the devil incarnate, managed care), I heard good news and bad news. First the bad news The differences between health insurance and managed care companies have eroded somewhat as almost all major health insurance companies are also in managed care, and managed care organizations are a form of insurance. Public perceptions - using both descriptions – are similar, still very negative but, like attitudes to pharmaceuticals, somewhat better than they used to be. This year 48 percent of adults want stronger regulations of health insurance and 41 percent want stronger regulation of managed care.But the good news is it could be (and has been) worse However, these are down, respectively, from 59 percent and 60 percent in 2003, having declined every year since then. So who's your favorite target? Posted by c3 at November 16, 2006 09:55 PMComments
The direct marketing industry. Whether it comes to unwanted calls, or various inphomercials, these folks are in the vanguard of unscrupulously selling unwanted crap to the most vulnerable folks. Not to mention that they are Time Vampires for everyone. On every saturday morning that I happen to get up really early to play golf, local radio station WPRO is given over to some show promising a medical miracle, and geared towards preying on unfortunate old folks with insomnia and chronic pain. I think a LOT of people would support beefed up oversight over all sorts of consumer ripoffs and scams. In fact, I think a Cops-style TV show geared towards catching scammers would be a big hit, AND would educate the public. First law? Every person has the right to "white list" their phone so that people can't call you if you don't want them to. I'm surprised this function isn't built into currently available phones. Posted by: bk at November 17, 2006 08:59 AMTrial Lawyers..... but it'll never happen, too many of them happen to be sitting in Congress themselves. Not to mention the lobby power they have. Posted by: cengel at November 17, 2006 10:16 AM |
Archives
February 2008
January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003
Recent Entries
Three Quotes
The Choice, Based on Iraq Policy Even More Of A Surprise Castro Bows Out Kosovo Declares Independence Will Obama Take McCain's Funding Dare? Global Poverty Act Preservation Friday Band Taking on Obama Electoral Results Came Out As Expected?!?
|
