Blue Mass Group

I think it’s time to ask “the hard questions” about entitlement reform. Alongside the news stories about the debate over medicare entitlements, we are starting to see news stories like this one crop up on DrudgeReport: Baby boomers fueling boom in knee, hip surgeries “They think if they’ve got a sore knee they’re entitled to having it replaced,” he said. “I think surgeons are overdoing it too, to try to meet that expectation.” Dr. Ronald Hillock, an orthopedic surgeon in a large practice in Las Vegas that does about 4,000 joint replacements a year, sees the demand from patients. “People come in and say `this is what I want, this is what I need,’” he said. “They could buy a cane or wear a brace,” but most want a surgical fix. The numbers tell the story. There were 288,471 total hip replacements in 2009, nearly half of them in people under 65, according to the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, which tracks hospitalizations. Knee replacements soared from 264,311 in 1997 to 621,029 in 2009, and more than tripled in the 45-to-64-year-old age group. The hard questions: Do we make the elderly pay for all the 45 year olds [...]

A key goal of the Tea Party movement is the reduction of the national debt and thus the size of government via spending cuts. However, it is highly unlikely that the federal deficit can be reduced through spending cuts alone. That said if the Tea Party movement harbors such a fundamental opposition to tax increases and revenue enhancements and those measures are required in order to effect the deficit reduction they hope to achieve, how can the movement ever hope to be successful. It was a perquisite that those seeking Tea Party support in the 2010 elections for the House and Senate sign a statement stating that they would never raise taxes or eliminate tax breaks in attempt to reduce the federal deficit. This may prove a pledge that cannot be kept for those who ultimately want to lower the deficit. Two of the three major deficit reduction panels, the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, co-chaired by, Republican Alan Simpson and Democrat Erskine Bowles, and the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Debt Reduction Task Force, co-chaired by former CBO Director Alice Rivlin and retired Senator Pete Domenici (R-NM), have both included revenue enhancements as part of deficit reduction. Quoting political [...]

In light of Scott Brown’s claim that he didn’t actually snub Setti Warren at the Newton Memorial Day parade, BMG asked the Warren campaign for clarification on what really happened.  A Warren staffer responded as follows (email, no link): What the clip shows is Mayor Warren offering Senator Brown the chance to come over and meet with some of the veterans that he was marching with in the parade.  Senator Brown waved him off.  We’re not concerned or worried about this, and Mayor Warren greatly enjoyed his time out at the parade yesterday. So, there you have it.  It’s true that the video does not clearly show Warren extending his right hand, as one would normally expect in a shake-hands situation.  However, I would definitely characterize as a “snub” what the Warren staffer describes.  Frankly, I’m not sure which is worse; neither is good.  Watch it again, with the Warren campaign’s response in mind:

You’re no doubt familiar with the old saying “like rats deserting a sinking ship.”  Events of the last 24 hours confirm that, in today’s politics, the S.S. Paul Ryan is taking on water, and Republicans are scurrying for the life preservers. First up: our good friend Scott Brown.  Over the last week or so, we’ve chronicled Brown’s marvelous adventures in obfuscation when it comes to his position on Paul Ryan’s Medicare Destruction Act of 2011.  First, he was for it, to the point where he actually thanked God that Ryan had the fortitude to do what he did.  Then, he clammed up and wouldn’t say where he stood.  Then, he was pretty sure he was against it, though he refused to say how he would vote on it. Finally, this morning, in an op-ed published in Politico (of all places), Senator Brown declares flatly that: I cannot support his specific plan — and therefore will vote “no” on his budget. Nothing like a Senator who stands on principle, eh?  And competing with Scott Brown in the flip-flop department is Jane Corwin, the Republican running in tomorrow’s NY-26 special election.  As I’ve discussed previously, this race was supposed to a lock [...]

WEEK THREE: The DiMasi trial continues this week (AP), with some big names potentially taking the stand. (Globe)The Herald asks what the trial means for Gov. Deval Patrick. POMP: Mid-May means graduations galore in Massachusetts. Katie Couric was at BU (WHDH). Alan Khazei was at Clark.(T&G)  UMass Law’s first graduates take their walk.(Taunton Gaz.) NONPROFS: A.G. Martha Coakley and lawmakers move to stop nonprofits from paying board members. (Herald) DOWNTOWN: Sen. Scott Brown will vote against the GOP House budget. (Globe) Read the rest of the MASSterList, including the Mitt Monitor, today’s legislative headlines, transportation news, new health care headlines, today’s Best of the Blogs and more by signing up for daily email at MASSterList.com