How To Reach The Electorate With Political Economy Messaging

There is a lot of wisdom in this article by someone who has been in the business of explaining government policy to a wide audience.  The entire article is worth reading, but I singled out a couple of examples that are central to current issues.

The healthcare reform bill provides a good example.  Some people will benefit from the bill, and others may not see any apparent benefit to themselves.  One of the problems with a market based system, in which individuals purchase healthcare insurance directly from insurers, is that insurance companies give a discount to large groups, and they accept all individuals in a group for coverage.  That is not fair to those who are not covered by group insurance.  Democrats should stress the fairness issue in their messaging. The bill gives individuals an opportunity to get group discounts from the exchanges that are part of the plan.  The bill also requires that insurance companies accept those with preexisting conditions for coverage.  It isn't fair to insurance companies to accept people who will be be costly to cover,  if healthy people choose not purchase health insurance.  That is why the bill requires everyone to be insured.  On the other hand, many Americans are covered by employer provided group insurance.  Whats in it for them?  Many are concerned that they might lose their insurance if they lose their jobs.  The bill gives them access to exchanges that provide an alternative to group coverage.

Health insurance premiums, even for those covered by employer based group plans, have been rising much faster than other prices.  This puts a burden on employers who provide coverage, and it also reduces the net income for employees who pay a share of rising insurance premiums.  This is like a tax on employers, which makes them less competitive in global markets, and it reduces employee take home pay.  It is important to give simple examples that show how the bill will slow down the rising cost of health insurance for employers and employees.  Employers will be more competitive, and more able to hire new workers, and employees will have more take home pay.  Reducing the growth in healthcare costs will also help to contain the expense of government provided healthcare programs.  They have been the fastest growing portion of the federal budget.

Most American's also have a favorable opinion about Medicare.  It is important to stress two things about Medicare.  It helps to counter the anti-government message of the GOP.  It is a government program that works.  Democrats should be able to explain how it delivers healthcare more efficiently than many private insurers.  They should also be able to show how the bill will strengthen Medicare.  They should also be able to make simple points about how the Ryan plan fails to deal with rising healthcare costs and how his plan shifts the burden of price increases greater than the general inflation rate to seniors.