begins like this:
Mitt Romney doesn’t see dead people. But that’s only because he doesn’t want to see them; if he did, he’d have to acknowledge the ugly reality of what will happen if he and Paul Ryan get their way on health care.
Krugman's Monday column uses Romney's words against him, quoting first the statement to the
Columbus Dispatch that no one dies because of being uninsured and then referring to Romney's previous statement about people being able to get their essential health care in hospital emergency rooms. He then says bluntly
These are remarkable statements. They clearly demonstrate that Mr. Romney has no idea what life (and death) are like for those less fortunate than himself.
There is so much more in this column . . .
Before returning to the column, which I STRONGLY urge you to read, I want to make a suggestion. Krugman has become one of the most important truth-tellers in American public life. His stature as a Nobel Laureate in Economics certainly gives his words heft, as does having The New York Times as the vehicle through which he expresses his thoughts. Yet were he not both a clear thinker and a superb writer, neither of those would matter as much. As it is, because he both - a clear thinker and a superb writer - they serve to amplify the cogency of what he offers.
In Krugman's case, it is not just one or two powerful columns. It is column after column after column.
There is a lot of good detail in this column.
Krugman reminds you that while a hospital emergency room cannot deny you urgent care, that does not mean it is free - the expense can bankrupt people, and the fear of the bills can mean some people do not seek treatment and therefore die.
Further, emergency room treatment is no substitute for appropriate care before things reach a crisis that can mean even the emergency treatment is insufficient.
So the reality, to which Mr. Romney is somehow blind, is that many people in America really do die every year because they don’t have health insurance
Krugman goes through the impact of this, and also talks about how Republicans want to accuse those who use "voucher" to describe what they want to do to Medicare of being liars, except there is this:
Among the lying liars, then, is the guy who, in 2009, described the Ryan plan as a matter of “converting Medicare into a defined contribution sort of voucher system.” Oh, wait — that was Paul Ryan himself.
Our Nobel Laureate then goes through some of financial implications of what Romney and Ryan are proposing.
You really do need to read ALL of the column.
At that point, you will understand the power of Krugman's final putdown:
It’s not a pretty picture — and you can see why Mr. Romney chooses not to see it.
Read the column.
Pass it on.
I think Krugman deserves a Pulitzer for his commentary, don't you?