Clinging to a leftist fantasy

Spoiled, complacent Greece could learn a few
things from its former Eastern bloc neighbors,
said Alexis Papachelas. Greece drives off potential
foreign investors, belittles its allies, and takes its
membership in NATO and the European Union
as an inalienable right. It still has not enacted
vital economic reforms—despite multiple bailouts
and loans, not to mention threats from creditors.
Contrast this behavior with that of Albania, or
Macedonia and other ex-Yugoslavian countries.
Since the collapse of communism, they have
embraced capitalism and political reform and
are succeeding at both. They see Europe and
the U.S. as natural allies, and “aspire to become
members of all the closed international clubs we
have belonged to since the 1950s.” What’s the
difference between us? These formerly communist
nations “reject the failed leftist model because
they actually experienced it, while we maintain
it as an artificial chimera.” Somewhere in our
psyche, a socialist workers’ paradise is still felt to
be achievable, and that’s why we won’t dismantle
our bloated bureaucracy or make our labor laws
more business-friendly. One can only hope that
“at some point the competitive Greek instinct and
pride will kick in.” When we see ourselves lagging
behind Macedonia, maybe then we’ll get serious
about reform.

Muslims require more scrutiny

Call it racist if you want, but it’s only logical that
Muslim citizens should be closely monitored, said
Marian Repa. Prime Minister Robert Fico drew
international condemnation last week for saying
he had put Slovakia’s Muslim community under
surveillance, but he was just being realistic. “Virtually
every time there has been a terrorist attack,
Muslims were responsible,” Fico said. “Therefore,
if we have these people staying in Slovakia, it’s our
duty to verify whether they have contacts with suspicious
individuals.” Since 9/11, the U.S. and many
European countries have quietly been doing the
same thing; Fico is just more honest. And he’s right to
keep a close eye on these people, because much
of Europe’s Muslim population does not share
European values. After the January attacks on the
Paris offices of satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo,
all of Europe was hashtagging #IAmCharlie—
e xcept for the many Muslim Europeans saying
#IAmNotCharlie. And at a soccer match between
Turkey’s and Greece’s national teams last week,
many Turkish fans booed and shouted “Allah is
great” during a minute of silence for the victims
of the Paris terrorist attacks. Some may say we are
practicing collective guilt, but the Muslims have already
shown us they are “united in their hatred.”

More ominous signs for Obamacare

Obamacare may not be in a death spiral yet, but “it’s got some very
worrying symptoms,” said Megan McArdle. The nation’s largest health
insurer, UnitedHealth, topped off a “horrible, no good, very bad news
cycle” for the Affordable Care Act last week, when it ab ruptly announced
it was facing losses worth up to $500 million on its 2015
and 2016 exchange policies, and might have to pull out of Obamacare
entirely after 2016. Many other insurers are struggling to make money
in these markets, and have had to raise rates and deductibles. The crux
of the problem is “adverse selection”: The young and healthy are resisting
buying Obamacare policies, or waiting to sign up for coverage only
when they need expensive medical care. That could leave insurers with
“a handful of very sick people and a huge number of very expensive
claims,” forcing them to raise rates. Higher rates could then lead more
healthy, young people to drop their insurance—the dreaded “death spiral.”
Other insurance companies still say they’re optimistic the enrollees
will balance out over the next two years. But if insurers can’t make
money through Obamacare, this “won’t end well.”