cc: 'Private Obsession' - how do we get objective?

Below is a copy of an e-mail I sent to PAUL KRUGMAN of the NY Times regarding his editorial on conservative leadership's plan for health care (http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/29/opinion/29krugman.html?th&emc=th).

Dear Sir,

After reading your editorial regarding the conservatives’ handling of health care and the “private obsession,” I find myself asking how can policymakers and citizens form objective opinions and create action plans when our information comes to us biased. As you said, “they believe that more privatization, not less, is always the answer. And their faith persists even when the evidence clearly points to a private sector gone bad.” And “all the evidence suggests that we would be much better off under a system of universal coverage.”

What evidence? America needs a process by which data collection and reporting can become at least somewhat unbiased. Surely Martin Feldstein of Harvard has access to data, as does the Bush administration. You did not cite the sources from which you obtained evidence and argued for universal coverage. Now, I agree privatization is risky and do not support the Bush team on this goal. Yet people of intelligence can only form logical opinions when evidence is available and unbiased.

Please help America find the data and promote dialogue based on sound statistical evidence rather than merely on ideological fronts. Accurately measured and reported data offers at least partial remedy to ineffective policymaking and leadership direction.

Regards,
Jared B. Tremper