George Will spanks Robert Reich on ABC’s This Week

George Will took Berkeley professor Robert Reich to school on this week’s edition of ABC’s This Week.

You almost felt sorry for Reich. Almost, but not quite.

Reich: The health insurers are not, George, you said they’re popular and everybody likes their health insurer. They like their doctor. They hate their health insurer. And health insurance is going up in terms of rates 20, 30, 40, 50 percent in many states. In fact, Goldman Sachs just this past week has said to its many of its investors, “Invest in some insurance companies because they don’t have competition, and they have, are exhibiting huge profits.” That is money directly out of the pockets of Americans.

Will: A, you say they have huge profits. As you know, confiscate all the profits of all the health insurance companies, with those profits you could finance our healthcare for 48 hours. What you do for the next 363 days I don’t know. Second, you say there’s not enough competition? Fine, let them compete in a national market across state lines.

Reich: Yes, let them compete across state lines, fine. But not a race to the bottom. Set minimum federal standards because we’ve seen over and over again that the recipients of health insurance don’t know what they are buying very often. Until there are common standards, minimal standards, then people are going to be taken. And that is what’s happened over and over again.

Will: There you have the premise of this legislation and the core of today’s liberalism: the American people are such dopes they can’t be counted upon to buy their own insurance.

A few minutes later, Reich was undoubtedly in the producer’s office begging not to be booked on the same show as Will ever again.

H/t: NewsBusters.org

This post was last modified on January 26, 2021

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View Comments (4)

  • reich made the statement that he hope the jobs from the stimulas didnt go to white males, to me this is reverse racism. liberals would be all over this had a conserv. said this of blacks or hispanics.

  • Robert Reich to Geroge Will "Now George, just because it's mandatory doesn't mean, we can't go back and change it later. you know clean it up and make it better when we have more time on our hands, Oh by the way,
    I would love to continue this discussion but I just heard there is rioting by the students next to my office at Berkeley and I need to get back there pronto. Say, don't think for one minute that all of this trouble is any of my fault.

  • Obviously only a few people have the "smarts" and everyone else we are brainless animals and need to be told what to do. This guy is a typical Progressive. Instead of presenting his points of view and just answer the question, he actually had to attack someone else's point of view.

  • Reich is a condescending prig. Recipients of health insurance are smarter than ever about what they are buying and most today DO NOT WANT what Obama/Pelosi/Reid are selling. Over and Out.