Hello Professor Kafka and Classmates,
It is my intent to research the possible effects of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Not surprisingly, there are many articles, editorials, and other documents with which to work. I am having an issue with my research because much of the effects are speculative and the Act has not really had the time it needs to actually take effect. The issue is the political sway which is present in many of the readings.
One reading that I found helpful is a document released by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) in 2010. The CBO is a federal agency that provides economic analysis data to Congress and is currently headed by Douglas Elmendorf. After doing some research on the director, I found that Mr. Elmendorf has previously worked for the Brookings Institute, which is a liberal think tank. Even though this is a document released by the CBO I wanted to make sure I had a general knowledge of the background of the people who have put together this document. Even though Mr. Elmendorf has worked for a well known liberal think tank, I feel this is a great piece of research because the CBO Director has to be jointly approved by the House Speaker (currently a Republican) and the President pro tempore of the Senate (currently a Democrat). If both parties have to compromise and appoint one individual, I feel the individual is probably of the utmost credibility.
It’s always good to know where your research is coming from.
– Matt
yes- great point about needing to understand where your research is coming from – nice job, Matt!