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Ann Spencer

Bloomington, MN
Commenter for
5 years 27 weeks

Recent Comments

Posted on 04/30/13 at 09:02 am in response to Behind Concordia's bold tuition cut: 'Maybe we can actually do something'

for taking a whack at this issue. I have long wondered when this unsustainable "high tuition/high discount" model would begin to topple of its own weight. For a while, at least in the world of private colleges, what kept this going was the so-called "Chivas Regal effect". The higher the tuition, the higher the perception of value, and as long as there were a sufficient number of families able and willing to pay the sticker price, the system worked, even with generous financial aid. But as...

Posted on 02/22/13 at 01:04 pm in response to Political leaders' unusual silence speaks volumes about the complexities of orchestra lockouts

I should perhaps let Hiram Foster speak for himself, but I believe his comments about the orchestra have been misread by several commenters. Here is the sentence that has set people off: "What I would tell management is no one goes to the orchestras, or listens to the orchestra in any format to hear them." In the total context of his remarks, I believe he meant that no one goes to Minnesota Orchestra concerts or listens to the orchestra on the radio or on CD to hear THE MANAGEMENT ("them"),...

Posted on 01/30/13 at 12:05 pm in response to Why preventive-medicine services aren't lowering health-care costs

I have become a broken record on this subject, but it will be very difficult to change current practices in preventive medicine (or anything else in our expensive health care system) because of the huge vested interest in the status quo. Many of the preventive measures outlined in the article may be a waste of money---but every cent of that waste goes into someone's pocket, and those who benefit are going to vigorously fight any change.

I don't mean to imply that these people are...

Posted on 01/30/13 at 06:43 pm in response to Why preventive-medicine services aren't lowering health-care costs

Just got the latest Consumer Reports in the mail with a cover story on cancer screenings. Bottom line: they recommend only three cancer screening tests--pap smears, colonoscopies, and mammography---albeit much less frequently and for a narrower age range than the current practice. Wait for the backlash in 3,2,1..."what does Consumer Reports know about medicine?", etc. The discussion should be interesting.

Posted on 09/20/12 at 01:31 pm in response to Yes, we're getting fatter — but how do we reverse the trend?

I'm not being snarky, I genuinely want to know: is there such a thing as an "effective, evidence-based obesity-prevention program"? My understanding is that almost all such programs are dismal failures, at least over the long term.

I think Martin Bruegel is onto something, too. When I was in college, a friend of mine used to refer jokingly to "EJE"---"the ephemeral joy of eating"---and it's magical feel-good properties. As she also said, "When all else fails, your tastebuds never let...

Posted on 09/20/12 at 10:04 am in response to Questions for Mitt Romney after his explanation of what he meant to say

Thanks for your comments. I've been struck by the same thing.

I studied a lot of American intellectual history way back in the day in college so I have been particularly fascinated by the resurgence of this feature of Puritanism. The famous "Puritan work ethic" has its roots in fear of eternal damnation. The Puritans believed in predestination: the individual was either saved or damned from birth. Nothing a person did could change his fate. But the Puritans believed there were certain...

Posted on 07/17/12 at 03:19 pm in response to Charlie Cook thinks Romney is blowing it

that voters aren't seeing anything in the way of actual policy from Romney that would make the economy better? More tax cuts on high earners plus deregulation doesn't strike people as a winning formula, especially when coupled with Romney's now pretty much set-in-stone image as a man of the 1%. Given that, they'll go with the more likable guy who at least is trying to improve the lot of the average American.

As the saying goes "You can't beat something with nothing." So far, the...

Posted on 07/05/12 at 10:16 am in response to Analyzing the Obamacare tax increases

In the real world, it matters not an iota whether the money paid for not purchasing health insurance is called a tax, a penalty, a unicorn or a bicycle. The effect is exactly the same.

I don't understand the faux outrage over this. If it's a tax this week, it was a tax last year, and the year before that, yet I don't recall any protests about it on that ground. The penalty (or whatever you want to call it) provision has been in the bill from the beginning, has been widely discussed (...

Posted on 07/05/12 at 09:06 am in response to What Kurt Bills wants to do to Obamacare (viewer discretion advised)

Now that the ACA's constitutionality has been upheld, President Obama and Democrats in general need to come out strongly touting its benefits.It shouldn't be that tough: "Here's what health care reform will do to help you and your family:a, b,c, d "

I agree with the New York Times editorial yesterday that the Democrats are strangely silent, while the airwaves are dominated by this kind of "biggest tax increase in the history of the universe" nonsense. They cannot afford to repeat...

Posted on 07/05/12 at 09:10 am in response to What Kurt Bills wants to do to Obamacare (viewer discretion advised)

My comment submitted before it was ready (dang this oversensitive laptop)

My first paragraph was supposed to read: When did this sort of ludicrous hyperbole and over-heated rhetoric become acceptable in American politics? This isn't analysis or reasoned opposition, it's nothing but a series of deeply misleading talking points designed to trigger fear and anxiety rather than any rational response.

There.