I’ve been following the national healthcare debate approximately as well as any concerned journalist. To be honest, I find the topic tiresome, because I think it’s really a moral question that Washington has tried to (unsuccessfully in my opinion) make economic. At this point, much of the media is characterizing those who oppose national healthcare as a small right-wing fringe. I think that’s wrong.

I know a fairly significant number of people who oppose national healthcare, and none of them are right-wing nut jobs. Most of these people lean right politically, but they’re hardly going to try to wound you with their bibles or shotguns if you bring it up. They’re happy to have a calm rational debate about it. They just don’t believe it’s ultimately best for the government to control healthcare.

At this point, it looks like national healthcare is on a slow march to its grave. But if Congress and the Obama administration really believe that America wants national healthcare, I have a suggestion: let’s vote on it. Have Congress draft a plan. Give Americans a month or two to read, understand and discuss the plan. Then make a national referendum vote for it. That will eliminate special interest lobbyists that are whispering into the ears of our politicians and let the people really voice what they believe. If Congress and Obama are right, and Americans really do want national healthcare, then it will pass, and they will have their victory. If they’re wrong, then it shouldn’t pass anyway, and the debate will be over.

There are so many important political and economic discussions out there right now that Washington needs to be having, but the healthcare debate seems to be sucking up all of its time, energy and money. Why not let the people decide so we can just move on?

For those who follow my writing, and I hope your numbers are growing, I wanted to make a quick announcement. I am now, officially, a professional writer/reporter/blogger/editor what-have-you. Instead of trudging through work everyday in the unforgiving world of business/finance, I have elected to write about it. Because writing is much more fun.

As I said a while back, from January through May, I was on a stint in a non-permanent capacity working as a reporter in Forbes’ Washington DC Bureau. Today I started working for The Atlantic. Permanently, full-time, etc. I am a new blogger/editor for their Business Channel. That means that I will be writing a lot, all the time. Think of it as what I used to do here, focused on business and economics, on steroids, except that I’m getting paid for it.

That also means that I am officially moving to the DC area. I’m still subletting in Arlington, trying to decide (opinions welcome) if it’s worth paying approximately 4% in higher taxes to live in DC, or if I should stay a little further out in the trendy northern Virginia suburbs. (I say that without a hint of sarcasm. NoVA rules.) I leave behind New York City. Good riddens. Been there, done that, got the I HEART NY T-shirt. May it rest in its rats’ feces peace.

Does that mean synchrodan.com will cease existence? Of course not. The Atlantic is not particularly interested in my ramblings on topics like the paparazzi, Gari or peeing. So I hope to still blog on other non-business/finance/economics topics through this site. In the event that I do other cool stuff like TV or radio, I’ll be sure to post about that here too.

Anyway, if you’re interested in my Atlantic work, check it out here:

http://business.theatlantic.com/

Or more specifically, here:

http://business.theatlantic.com/author/daniel_indiviglio/

The past two weeks I was a guest blogger for The Atlantic. I posted all of my pieces separately last week, but since I was more prolific this week, I thought one post would do. Here they are:

Friday, March 29, 2009

Is The U.S. Treasury Smart or Generous?

U.S. Debt $668,621 Per Household

Organic Milk: It Does A Farmer Bad

Thursday, March 28, 2009

Should The Fed Be The Systemic Risk Regulator?

Prime Borrowers Ask: “What Bottom?”

Suffering States Not Feeling Stimulated

Inflation: Because Here Looks A Lot Like There

Is OPEC a Cartel?

Wednesday, March 27, 2009

Sure, A National Sales Tax

Is Sotomayor Wrong on Affirmative Action’s Effect on Business?

A National Sales Tax?

Hiding Experience Means Hindering Growth

Bonus Bitterness Backfires

Tuesday, March 26, 2009

Banks To Get Huge Windfall From. . . Mortgages?

Washington’s Short-Sighted Action May Haunt Unions

Not Confident About Consumer Confidence

5 Reasons Business Should Cheer Obama’s Pick of Sotomayor

Contracts: Credit Cards, Mortgages and Chrysler

Monday, March 25, 2009

Why Paulson Didn’t Understand Mortgage Securities

A piece I wrote for the Atlantic about the Hamptons.

It’s Back To The Future In The Hamptons

Another I wrote for the Atlantic about the biggest bank bailout you haven’t heard about, involving the FDIC.

The Backdoor Bailout for Banks and the FDIC

Another Atlantic piece I wrote from yesterday, why a free trade agreement with Panama is such a no-brainer.

Panama and Protectionism

An Atlantic piece about how young people are more susceptible to layoffs, and why that’s bad.

Reverse-Ageism Might Be Worse

Another Atlantic piece. This one was because I am tired of hearing people scream that everyone should buy gold or else they will soon be living on the streets.

Don’t Let The Glitter Hypnotize You

Also for the Atlantic. The purpose was to try to explain how credit card companies view risk. Instead it just managed to piss a lot of people off. As a result, I decided to respond to all those angry people who thought I must be a credit card company executive, because no one in their right mind could possibly defend those scoundrels. So here are both pieces:

Why Credit Card Companies Are So Mean

Credit Card Companies: Mean vs. Evil

And one I wrote today for Forbes about the Credit Card bill passing the Senate:

Stealing Credit Card Kudos