Paul Krugman: Democrats Against Reform

Despite the political difficulties it has caused, Obamacare was not a mistake:

Democrats Against Reform, by Paul Krugman, Commentary, NY Times: It’s easy to understand why Republicans wish health reform had never happened.... But it’s more puzzling — and disturbing — when Democrats like Charles Schumer, senator from New York, declare that the Obama administration’s signature achievement was a mistake.

In a minute I’ll take on Mr. Schumer’s recent remarks. But first, an update on Obamacare..., which continues to rack up remarkable (and largely unreported) successes ... with more than 10 million people gaining coverage since last year. ... And ... a huge majority of the newly insured are pleased with their coverage...

What about costs? There were many predictions of soaring premiums. But... Premiums for 2014 came in well below expectations...

In short,... as a policy intended to improve American lives, it’s going really well. Yet it has not ... been a political winner for Democrats. Which brings us to Mr. Schumer.

The Schumer critique — he certainly isn’t the first to say these things... — calls health reform a mistake because it only benefits a minority of Americans, and that’s not enough to win elections. What President Obama should have done ... was focus on improving the economy as a whole.

This is deeply wrongheaded in at least three ways.

First, while it’s true that most Americans have insurance through Medicare, Medicaid, and employment-based coverage..., but what happens if you’re fired, or your employer goes bust, or it cancels its insurance program? What if you want to change jobs for whatever reason, but can’t find a new job that comes with insurance? ...

Second, whenever someone says that Mr. Obama should have focused on the economy, my question is, what do you mean by that? Should he have tried for a bigger stimulus? I’d say yes, but ... especially after 2010 scorched-earth Republican opposition killed just about every economic policy he proposed. Do you think this would have been different without health reform? Seriously? ...

Finally, we need to ask, what is the purpose of winning elections? The answer, I hope, is to do good — not simply to set yourself up to win the next election. ....

And one related observation: If more Democrats had been willing to defend the best thing they’ve done in decades, rather than run away from their own achievement and implicitly concede that the smears against health reform were right, the politics of the issue might look very different today.