Uneasy Rhetoric

The number of people in poverty and the number of people without health insurance both grew last year, but so did the number of people with health insurance, largely because of government health programs.

From the LA Times:

Poor and Uninsured Americans Increase for Third Straight Year

In a twist that could prove embarrassing to free-market Republicans, the figures showed the ranks of the insured swelled because of substantial growth in government-provided health coverage, especially through Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, which offset a third straight year of declines in the number covered by employer-based insurance.

“This shows that government can effectively offset economic hardships generated by the market economy,” said Sheldon H. Danziger, a public policy scholar at the University of Michigan. “Government can work.”

Amen, brother.