Ben Bernanke is the man of the year, apparently. (Yeah, and Nickelback's the band of the decade. Hey, don't look at me; ask Billboard.)
Time magazine, after mulling over finalists such as President Obama (again), Steve Jobs (are we sure he's still alive?) and the Chinese worker (not touching that one), settled on a fed chairman who's struggling to hold on to the country's jobs, as well as his own.
Bernanke earned the mag's top honor this year, because ""he is the most important player guiding the world's most important economy." And, in case, you haven't noticed, the economy's been in the news a lot lately.
Recommended For You
Well, as I read through the story, I thought, why don't we do something like this? So, after sifting through obvious – and sometimes objectionable – choices such as Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid or Joe Lieberman, I decided to go in another direction, and offer up my own candidate for health care reform's person of the year.
(Quick aside here: Where has Kathleen Sebelius been throughout all of this debate?) Am I the only one who finds it a strange that the Secretary of Health and Human Services has been missing in action? I mean we are talking about health care reform…)
Anyway, after a lot of deliberation (and even more coffee), I decided to nominate the Congressional Budget Office. The numbers and reports that emerge from this collective often cut through the rhetoric and hype with cold hard facts. Such as, pointing out that the president's numbers don't quite add up. Or that 10 million could lose employer coverage. Or that, sure, coverage will be increased, but premiums will, too.
And, going forward, when dollars and cents are more important – and scarce – than ever, the people at the CBO will almost certainly remain a much-needed voice of reasoned calm.
So, that's my two cents. Who would you pick?
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
