Democracy and Power 106: Unintended Consequences The law of unintended consequences is what happens when a simple system tries to regulate a complex system.   The political system is simple; it operates with limited information (rational ignorance), short time horizons, low feedback, and poor and misaligned incentives.  Society, in contrast, is a complex, evolving, high-feedback, incentive-driven system.  When a simple system tries to regulate a complex system

Obamacare is struggling to survive its encounter with the real world. We were promised it would decrease the number of uninsured, lower health insurance prices, allow consumers to keep their policies and doctors, reduce Emergency Room usage, or reduce costs with preventive care.  None of those promises were ever true, and now they're being proven such. Even the expansion of the Medicaid program is proving counterproductive. All of that points to a simple truth.You can't legislate reality.

The year that we are bidding farewell to has been nothing short of creepy when one considers it through the prism of personal freedom. As I write this, I'm fairly certain the NSA is watching me through the lights on my Christmas tree, which also seem to be blinking "What are you wearing?" in Morse code. We have a unilateral edict egomaniac in the White House and we are mere hours away from the IRS being able to demand your financials AND your latest colonoscopy pics (trust me, they'll get there).

When the Obama Administration quietly announced a year delay in the Obamacare employer mandate on the eve of the 4th of July, it came as a big surprise. But knowing what we do now about the nonfunctional nature of the healthcare.gov backend, it's completely unsurprising that they delayed the employer mandate. In 2014, expect delays, waivers, and unconstitutional ad hoc changes to Obamacare and other laws to continue.  

Are journalists now working at the behest of the Obama administration when it comes to reporting on health care coverage?  According to a recent report by Politico, the White House is seeking to stem the tide of disastrous Obamacare reports, instead 'looking to spread some good news.'  And what better way to accomplish this than through an ever-obedient ally in the media?Here is the opening excerpt:

On Christmas Day, the Washington Post editorial board miraculously characterized Obamacare as "free-market economics" at work. This glorious gift of the media elves surely would have lifted the spirits of the Santa Claus administration. Unfortunately, the elves missed the mark in several areas, leading to work that looked more trollish than elvin.

Every year since college, my best friend Dan and I have submitted our best observations on a wide range of topics that reflect on the year that has just expired. We follow the well established template of The McLaughlin Group program.Here are my reflections on 2013:BIGGEST WINNER OF THE YEAR: I can't even think of one, as 2013 has seen so many failures that have hurt so many Americans. The only one I can think of is David Ortiz of the Red Sox, who emphatically reclaimed the City of Boston for Bostonians.

In order to get young people to buy the Obamcare Exchange health insurance plans, the Obama Administration dictated to insurance companies a new deadline of December 24, Christmas Eve, for policies to be effective January 1. At the same time, over the weekend the President went through a botched PR rollout of his own, enrolling in the DC Exchange. These games will continue, and probably become worse, once the law is in full effect next week.

Are you all ready for Christmas? I know I have a couple things left to do, a little last-minute grocery shopping and such. You know how these things go.