Author Archives: Bill Pierce

The Simultaneous Sprint and Marathon – Why Winning the Nomination is Not Easy

The primary and caucus process is both a sprint and a marathon. While this may sound like a contradiction, there is method to the madness because the potential prize at the end, the presidency, requires both these skills and many others. In each state, candidates need to know when to start their final run to the finish line to cross as close to the front as possible, while also conserving energy because each individual “finish” line is only one of many in a very long race. This strategy is relevant for both front-runners and those at the back of the pack. For back-of-the-packers, timing is critical. Just ask Michelle Bachman, Rick Perry, Herman Cain and Newt Gingrich. All seemed to peak well before the race actually started. Being the front-runner in August or even December is nice, but it doesn’t count. On the other hand, timing your sprint well and coming out of nowhere can get important attention. Ask Rick Santorum about timing.
Posted on January 11, 2012 By Bill Pierce
Categories  U.S. Elections U.S. Politics | Leave a comment

Are Political Negotiations Dead?

I was recently talking with Bob Bontempo, a professor in the School of Business at Columbia University, about the art and science of negotiation. Bob teaches students how to negotiate, and as a result, he spends a fair amount of time studying negotiating techniques in the United States and around the world. (Full disclosure: Bob is also my brother-in-law.) Bob uses examples of public negotiation from the political arena to illustrate a central point about negotiation -- if you want to understand where a negotiation is likely to end up, you need to know each side's initial position. Most successful negotiations end up close to halfway between each side's starting position. Bob notes that historically, budget negotiations have reflected this pattern, as did the original negotiations over the Bush tax credits
Posted on November 28, 2011 By Bill Pierce
Categories  U.S. Politics | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

SCOTUS Takes Up Health Care Law

Earlier today, the Supreme Court of the United States announced that it would take up the case of the constitutionality (among other issues) of President Obama’s health care law. This will likely be not only the case of the year, but also perhaps the most important case in decades. Oral arguments are expected to be heard sometime this spring, and a decision is possible in late June – right as the 2012 presidential campaign really starts to heat up. Just like the political and legislative path of the law, the decision to hear this case has a few interesting twists and turns. The basic case taken up by the Supreme Court is the Florida-based lawsuit brought by 26 states and the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB). But the Court also gave itself an out, if it chooses. One of the issues it wants argued for and against is the Anti-Injunction Act, which two lower courts have used to dismiss cases against the law.
Posted on November 14, 2011 By Bill Pierce
Categories  Health Care Health Policy U.S. Elections U.S. Politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Health Care Reform: Another Step Toward a Supreme Court Showdown

The recent 2-1 ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit Court in Atlanta that the individual mandate in the health reform law was unconstitutional brought us closer to a legal resolution of various challenges. However, what is not yet clear is what that resolution will be. The reason is that this ruling comes on the heels of a June decision, which ruled the mandate as constitutional. That decision was made in a separate case before the Circuit Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit Court in Cincinnati. A third challenge to the law is pending in the 4th Circuit Court. What these contradictory decisions have done is guarantee that the Supreme Court will have to settle the issue.
Posted on August 15, 2011 By Bill Pierce
Categories  Health Care | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

IPAB: Beyond Repeal

The Independent Payment Advisory Board, or IPAB, has emerged as the latest target in the ongoing war over healthcare. Like many of the flash points in the debate, what the IPAB is and what it is designed to do has gotten lost in a steam of increasingly inflamed rhetoric. Republicans have called it a "rationing board" while Democrats who favor repeal have expressed concern it usurps Congressional authority and worry that it will hurt the quality of care in Medicare. In a July 26th piece for the Huffington Post, Democratic pollster Doug Schoen jumped into the fray when he called for President Obama to "subtly" signal Democrats it was okay to repeal the IPAB. He wrote,
Posted on August 3, 2011 By Bill Pierce
Categories  Health Care U.S. Politics | Leave a comment

Health Care and the Debt Ceiling

A lot has been written and said about the politics of the debt ceiling debate – perhaps too much. Therefore, this is not another piece about the potential impact of reaching the debt ceiling. This is about a major driver of the debate – health care. Although it doesn’t often appear so, there is a fair amount of agreement in the health care debate. Most will acknowledge that Medicare and Medicaid are growing at rates that are unsupportable in the long run. The disagreements, however, are about how and when to address the problem. Politicians, being the kings of the short term, almost always seek to push off the hard choices until the next time, frequently only acting when there is a crisis (see economic meltdown, auto-maker bailout, mortgage bailout, etc.).
Posted on June 7, 2011 By Bill Pierce
Categories  Finance Health Care | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment