Political Ideas that Work
Looking for Good News in a Season of Negativity
In this negative news campaign season, it’s tempting to focus on political failures. Good news stories often lack the click-worthiness of bad news stories. When we look more carefully, however, examples of well-functioning government programs aren’t too hard to come by. The green power transition, electric vehicles, and Oregon’s new basic health plan are three positive examples of Democratic priorities implemented using Republican-favored means.
The Green Energy Transition Is Moving Forward
In two years, the US will have retired half of its peak coal power generating capacity. But we not only have to reduce direct emissions in the power sector; we must also decarbonize the power sector, and that means finding sources of energy that do not rely on fossil fuels. For instance, driving an EV doesn’t help the environment much if the power used to charge it comes from coal.
While coal power generation is down, renewable power generation is significantly up. Unfortunately, so is producing energy with natural gas. Fossil gas energy production does generate carbon emissions, but it does so at half the rate of coal.
Further, the cost of power generation is lowest for solar and wind, and that means the costs of the transition aren’t being foisted off on ratepayers.
Finally, the Infrastructure Investment Act has supercharged US battery production. Making more batteries supports making more EVs (discussed below), and it provides a critical grid balancing function to enable more renewables to come onto the grid without using fossil gas powered peaker plants to balance the variability of renewable energy sources like solar and wind. EVs and grid-balancing batteries go hand in hand as batteries that reach the end of their useful life in vehicles still have years of life to give on the grid.
Many of these developments, especially increasing battery production, have been spurred by tax credits, a Republican-preferred incentive, rather than direct government investment. A tax credit forgoes tax income in exchange for private spending, rather than the government paying for something in a budget. Republicans often prefer tax credits as they allow businesses to innovate more freely than would be possible under a government direct spending contract.
Electric Vehicle Adoption
Reducing carbon emissions from the transportation sector continues to progress at a faster than expected rate. Some would have you believe that EV adoption is slowing down, but in fact it is continuing apace.
The up front price premium for purchasing an EV continues to fall.
Further, the costs of owning an EV continue to be significantly lower than the costs of owning a similar fossil fuel-powered vehicle.
Effectively, the fuel saving for an EV now repay the price premium on the purchase of an EV within two years for an average vehicle.
Again, tax credits play an important role in early adoption. While these are expensive to the government, they accelerate EV adoption until battery costs fall from increased production. As a bonus, the onshoring of battery and EV production and the reduced need for energy imports provide a significant gain in national security.
Health Insurance Coverage Has Expanded
The benefits of merging liberal priorities with conservative means extends beyond environmental programs into health insurance. The Affordable Care Act had two major parts - the expansion of Medicaid to cover people earning up to 138% of the federal poverty level (FPL) and the provision of tax credits up to 400% (and beyond, in some cases) of the FPL to assist with the purchase of health insurance for working families. This initially resulted in a plummeting rate of the uninsured in Oregon.
Unfortunately, while health insurance became almost free for people from 138-200% of the FPL, health costs remained a problem. Most people in this cohort could only afford bronze level health insurance plans, meaning they continued to have high deductibles and 40% co-insurance.
This didn’t do much good for providers, either. While these plans paid market insurance rates (usually 150-200% of the cost of providing the service), far exceeding reimbursements from Medicaid (which average about 80% of the cost), they only paid after the patient met the deductible. Effectively, providers often received the same or less from these privately-insured patients as they did for Medicaid-covered patients.
The solution came from another Republican-favored idea - a state waiver. Under the waiver, Oregon was allowed to repurpose the tax credit funds to fund an effective expansion of Medicaid up to 200% of the FPL. Starting this month, people in this income bracket can receive health insurance that actually allow them to access care without going bankrupt. Again, Republican favored tools - tax credits and state waivers - were used to accomplish a Democratic priority - the expansion of health insurance to the working poor.
Conclusion
In politics, successful projects often marry one party’s priorities with another party’s means. Republican David Brock Smith has long proposed tax credits for salmon habitat in Southern Oregon, for instance, while Republican Mark Owens suggested a liberal local option tax (on marijuana) to fund law enforcement (a conservative priority) in Ontario. Many water reform proposals combine left-preferred means like usage monitoring and conservation to support agriculture, a traditional priority of the right. These ideas flourish only in an environment where voters care more about wins for their community than about wins for their party. Let’s remember that when we receive our ballots this fall.
Should He Stay or Should He Go?
No, I won’t weigh in on the decision. However, I do observe that, at this point, absent a significant change in circumstances, only Mr. Biden can decide to leave the race and only Ms. Harris can practically replace him if he does. Yes, pundits will talk about all the various ways that something else could happen, but all of them rely on a consensus that is not forming around an alternative.
Yet Another Shooting
Most of the perpetrators of mass shootings share several characteristics - they are young, male, not diagnosed with a mental illness, and they use assault rifles or handguns. Even at these early stages, we know that the attempted assassin of former President Trump shares three of these - age, gender, and use of an assault rifle. The left/debate seems to focus on prohibition, rather than regulation. Why not require training and safe storage of handguns and assault rifles as a way of reducing easy access by young, impulsive potential shooters while maintaining access for those who use them responsibly?
Recommendations
The New York Times Best Books of the Century (so far). Check it out here to count the ones you’ve read and pick some you’d like to read in the future. While few of these are what I’d call “summer reads” the ones I’ve read are all pretty good. My favorites - The Looming Tower, Atonement, and Wolf Hall.
Fat Leonard: How One Man Bribed, Bilked, and Seduced the U.S. Navy by Craig Whitlock. Just wow. It’s an amazing story about the dangers of corruption.
The Wives: A Memoir by Simone Gorrindo. Having been, at various times, the military spouse and the non-military spouse of an active duty member, I’ve seen both sides of the equation. Taking care of servicemembers’ families is critical.
International Travel. My family just returned from a trip overseas. Whenever we go, we learn something new. It’s not just about seeing the sights; it’s about seeing how other societies manage challenges differently. In that sense, it’s some of the easiest and most practical education you can get, and it’s fun. Fortunately, international travel has never been cheaper. A trip to Mexico can cost less than a trip to the East Coast. If you haven’t yet, consider trying it. If you can’t manage it, consider hosting an exchange student or other international visitor. You’ll be surprised how much it can expand your horizons.
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