“High-frequency trading probably degrades the stock market’s function, because it’s a kind of tax on investors who lack access to those superfast computers — which means that the money Goldman spends on those computers has a negative effect on national wealth”

“Unregulated markets don’t work for health care — never have, never will. To the extent we have a working health care system at all right now it’s only because the government covers the elderly”

“It’s not just that many Americans don’t understand what Obama is proposing; many people don’t understand the way American health care works right now...the government is already deeply involved, even in private insurance. And that government involvement is the only reason our system works at all.”

“People in the know say not to worry too much about the awfulness of the Finance proposal; the important thing is getting it out of committee, so that it can be fixed in later negotiations. I hope they’re right.”

“the fate of health care reform seems to rest in the hands of relatively conservative Democrats... And you might be tempted to say that President Obama needs to give those Democrats what they want...But he can’t — because the Blue Dogs aren’t making sense. ”

“One main reason we spend far more on health than any other advanced nation, without better health outcomes, is the fee-for-service system in which hospitals and doctors are paid for procedures, not results...This creates an incentive for health providers to do more tests”

“The fate of America’s middle class hangs in the balance. And there on our TVs was a president with an impressive command of the issues, who truly understands the stakes.”

“Now President Obama is trying to provide every American with access to health insurance — and he’s also doing more to control health care costs than any previous president.”

“The talking heads on cable TV panned President Obama’s Wednesday press conference. You see, he didn’t offer a lot of folksy anecdotes. Shame on them. And there on our TVs was a president with an impressive command of the issues, who truly understands the stakes.”

“First, it tells us that Goldman is very good at what it does. Unfortunately, what it does is bad for America.”