Mr. Obama And The Vicious Circle

I agree with the main theme of this Seattle Times op-ed, but it contains one inadvertently hilarious note:

THE health-care dance in Washington, D.C., has gone on long enough. Congress needs to focus on the economy and set health care aside.

This is a change of position for us. This page supported Barack Obama for president, enthusiastically. We have supported the health-care effort until now. We still support universal coverage as a social goal.

But the longer the fight goes on, the more it feels that the timing is all wrong. The economy is wounded. Employers are hurting. The time to think about loading employers with new burdens is when they are strong. Not now.

See also: banks and the Community Reinvestment Act.