A front-page news article in today's New York Times describes a woman in California who was "scraping by on a $616-a-month welfare check." A photograph of her inside the newspaper pictures her in her kitchen, where a dishwasher and microwave oven are in clear view. Smartertimes.com mentions this not to be mean-spirited, but just to observe that "scraping by" in America today, and particularly by the definition of the New York Times, would be seen as doing pretty well by someone from a poor foreign country or by someone from America 100 years ago.
Patients' Bill of Wrongs: An editorial in today's New York Times discusses a proposed "Patients' Bill of Rights." The editorial says, "The White House, for its part, says the bill would open the floodgates to a wave of frivolous lawsuits, a claim not supported by the evidence in those states that have adopted similar legislation, including Texas under Governor Bush." This is misleading; the Texas patients' bill of rights included limits on civil damage awards that are not included in the federal legislation to which the White House is objecting.
The Times editorial goes on to complain that alternative federal legislation backed by the White House "seems more concerned with protecting the health care industry, a major Republican campaign contributor, than with protecting patients." The editorial somehow omits any mention of the fact that the legislation the Times supports would benefit trial lawyers, who are major Democratic campaign contributors -- and that the costs of the new litigation brought under the legislation would likely lead to increases in insurance premiums, meaning that more people go uninsured. The Times's own news coverage today reports on Congressional Budget Office estimates that say the legislation the Times prefers would increase insurance premiums by 4.2 percent, as against a 2.9 percent increase for the legislation the White House supports. The Times editorial makes no serious attempt to justify the additional costs, thundering on instead about the need for "meaningful reform."
Car Talk: An article in the business section of today's New York Times refers to "the aggressive and innovative Minnesota Public Radio, producer of 'A Prairie Home Companion' and 'Car Talk.'" In fact, "Car Talk" is a National Public Radio program that has nothing to do with Minnesota Public Radio.
Late Again: The front page of the business section of today's New York Times carries an article under the headline "Law Offices in California Make Cutbacks." That's old news to readers of the Wall Street Journal, which on Friday carried an article on the front page of its Marketplace section under the headline "Silicon Valley Law Firms Retrench as Deals, Stock Portfolios Dwindle."