National

Tomorrow’s topic will be healthcare in America–again.

Many Beyond Labels attendees appear to support “Medicare for All” in Maine or across the U.S. Is this the answer to our healthcare issues? Does Medicare “work?” Is it financially sustainable as configured, or is it a transfer of wealth from future generations to current Medicare beneficiaries? We’ve discussed this topic many times in the past, bot as the formal topic and informally in conjunction with other topics.

REMINDER: We meet in the Bass Room tomorrow.

We’ll explore what “services” should properly be provided by government and which should be provided elsewhere—by the private sector, by charitable organizations, by individual households.

Most important to the “what” will, of course, be the “why” (this and not that)and “how” (to deliver it—to whom, and to pay for it.

We should also consider, within “government” how it’s role should be divided between Federal, State, County and Town governments.

Here’s an op-ed from today’s Post that I think provides some relative context to the discussion—though it’s not strictly on-topic.

The Blue Hill Public Library will be closed this coming Monday in observance of Martin Luther King Day, so we won’t be meeting.

The next meeting will be on Jan 22, to discuss “new Federalism”–in a world that has difficulty coming to grips with the Trump Administration’s actions, some have argued that states (such as California and New York) can take the lead both domestically and globally in taking the high road vis-a-vis climate change, global “citizenship,” education, health care, etc. when the Federal government (a la Trump) isn’t being as aggressive (or progressive) as they’d like.

So we’ll revisit the question of what functions/activities should be driven by a uniform Federal mandate/control and which can be more local?

See you on Jan 22!