THE GOOD NEWS IS THE BAD NEWS IS WRONG:

Most Americans Have Health Insurance and Are Content With It: Still see need for health system changes (Lydia Saad December 9, 2002, GALLUP NEWS SERVICE)

If one accepts the assumption that the American public must reach extreme dissatisfaction with something before it demands government action, then it appears the United States is still a long way from seeing a populist healthcare-reform movement arise.

There are two forces working against a popular revolt on healthcare:

First, Americans' view of the healthcare situation nationally is negative, but not extremely negative. For instance, according to Gallup's latest survey on health and healthcare in America, conducted Nov. 11-14, only about one in four Americans characterize the nation's healthcare coverage situation as "poor."

Secondly, this is a classic case of Americans having a much worse view of the national situation than of how the issue plays out in their own lives. Gallup sees the same pattern on education, crime, and the economy: the public believes its local schools are good, its streets are safe, and its jobs are secure, but that nationally, education, crime, and the economy are serious problems.

It speaks as well of people that even though their own lives are secure they feel the pain of others as it does badly of Democrats and the Media that they've got folks worried about the non-existent pain. Posted by Orrin Judd at December 10, 2002 6:47 PM