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New Public Option Could Lead to Ultimate Red State/Blue State Showdown

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Does your state bleed Barack blue or Republican red? America seems more divided than ever between liberal and conservative regions and at this point, our public discourse has become so hyper-partisan that one starts to wonder whether half the country lives in France while the other half lives in a John Wayne movie. If you are convinced that the dominant political philosophy in your state leads to the best economic outcomes, the new public option proposal may put your assumptions to the test. Under Senator Harry Reid's proposal for healthcare reform, states will have the option to opt out of the federal public option. Many are assuming that red states will stick to the status quo by opting out while blue states will put their fate in the hands of the feds. If this proposal passes, it could set up the ultimate red state/blue state showdown, as Peter Brown suggests in a Wall Street Journal op-ed today:

Will some people migrate to states that offer it, perhaps because they are more trusting of government than insurance companies, while others head the other way for the opposite reason? Then there is the matter of whether people attracted to states with the public option will be more or less likely to be a net plus to the accepting state’s economy, both in terms of their productivity and their need for government services.

Do you think the red state or blue state way will be better for business? Please share your predictions below.

posted by Stefan Deeran
October 27, 2009 @ 2:18 pm

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