Word: reformed
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...plan to reform the Harvard College Library system, which was recently detailed in the university’s Library Task Force Report, aims to reduce the costs of maintaining the vast but fragmented Harvard College Library system by uniting the university’s 73 libraries under a central administrative body, transitioning to digital books in lieu of physical copies, and participating in book-lending programs with other schools...
Last Monday, the generally sage New York Times columnist David Brooks drew a somber line in the sand for health-care reform: “We all have to decide what we want at this moment in history, vitality or security. We can debate this or that provision, but where we come down will depend on that moral preference.” In the eyes of Brooks and a great many others, reform may very well create a more decent society—but only at the expense of economic dynamism and our oh-so-youthful American spirit...
...most “vital” groups in the country: working-class families and young, self-employed entrepreneurs. Those who are un-wealthy are at high risk to be unhealthy, but those who merely work hard outside government and corporate safety nets also need a powerful dose of reform. It’s difficult to say we’re doing well by pioneers when the average citizen worries about starting her own business because of medical bills. It’s tough to say we’re economically flexible when the average American family worries about bankruptcy...
Assuredly, one might respond that what anti-reformers worry about is future vitality: If our spirit of self-reliance does not wither with further government coddling, our debt from reform will destroy the can-do spirit of our posterity. And yet, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, the bill passed by the House would reduce the deficit by $109 billion over the first decade, and the Senate bill would reduce it by $127 billion—not to mention the other, more difficult to quantify elements such as the excise tax on high-cost insurance that will bring down...
...argument that American vitality will diminish if we pass the health-insurance bill is ultimately not only misleading, but also dangerous. When we wedge complicated issues between incompatible moral principles, we often drift further from pragmatic reform. There is no doubt that the health-care debate is just as much about values as dollars, but reducing the values debate to a pleasant, soothing dichotomy only solidifies the status quo. Claiming we can’t currently circumvent a tragic choice only postpones the change we need...