Thursday, February 12, 2009

My PajamasMedia OpEd on Cass Sunstein

The online political commentary website PajamasMedia.com has published my OpEd on Cass Sunstein, who is President Obama's new director of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. Sunstein is one of the leading advocates of the philosophy known as "libertarian paternalism".

Although it's not directly related to health care, if his ideas were implemented, they could have an enormously destructive effect on American freedoms in many spheres including health care.

Here is the opening of my piece:
Obama's Regulatory Chief Believes in Paternalistic Government
February 10, 2009 -- by Paul Hsieh

The old joke runs, "I'm from the government and I'm here to help." Most Americans are appropriately skeptical of such a claim, just as they are skeptical when told that they've won $10 million in a Nigerian lottery. But President Obama's selection of Harvard Law professor Cass Sunstein to direct the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs threatens to turn this joke into grim reality...
Read the rest here.