Two thoughts on Peterson Fiscal Summit
Today, I attended the Peterson Foundation’s star/wonk-studded Fiscal Summit. Speakers included Pres. Clinton, Alan Greenspan, Robert Rubin, Peter Orzag, Paul Ryan and more. Great coverage at the Fiscal Times. Two thoughts.
First, Paul Ryan continues to impress and he commanded an out-sized influence on the days events. Ryan’s observation that the fiscal crisis is the most “predictable economic crisis” in history, was the quote and idea that kicked off the proceedings. Though outnumbered, Ryan managed to draw the key ideological distinctions on his panel about the roll and purpose of government. And during the luncheon address, Peter Orzag continued to call attention to Ryan’s ideas. If Ryan can command this much attention–in a room full of politicos that includes President Clinton!–just imagine how much attention other Republicans could get if they too started talking as candidly and forthrightly about ideas.
Second, I was struck about how elliptical the whole panel on health care reform sounded. Dr. Elliot Fischer at Dartmouth described how various new business models have innovated to reduce costs and increase quality care. And all the other panelists agreed, saying yeah, we should reward that by giving a bonus payment, or tinkering with the Medicare reimbursement formula, or empowering the government “innovation center” to do more of this. But isn’t this missing the surprising thing about these examples? Because in every other sector, you don’t need a politician to pass a bill or tweak a payment formula to reward such innovation. If it’s good for consumers, you make a profit and grow on your own. Why isn’t this true for health care sector? No one seemed to see this as odd. But it’s more obvious why if you read David Goldhill’s piece in The Atlantic. And, the analysis points towards a much different path for reform.
Overall, an impressive day of speakers and I hope an encouraging sign of momentum for the Commission.
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