Nice write up online for the Willamette Week here about how liability insurance rates for Oregon physicians fell. The study from the State of Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services dispels a major political myth.

While it’s hard to remember, Oregon voters rejected a cap on damages in medical malpractice cases several years ago. The initiative, Measure 35, was sold as necessary due to a crisis. Check out the linked power ponit to see how badly proponents of Measure 35 overstated their position.

Oregon voters saw through the rhetoric and chose the wise course. Today’s study simply confirms the wisdom of that choice.

It should be interesting to see whether this objective information stifles the recurring urge by some to put limits on damages. The absence of any crisis makes it pretty difficult to argue for caps on damages.

David Sugerman

I hadn’t been following the nutrition information restaurant posting issue too closely. It seems that a divided county commission took the first step to require chain restaurants to post nutrition information yesterday. I was a bit surprised that Lisa Naito voted against, and Maria Rojo de Steffy initially opposed the measure.

Naito’s  opposition surprised me because she had previously led the charge to remove trans fats from the menu of Multnomah County restaurants. As for Rojo de Steffy, she’s been identified as a former board member of the American Heart Association.  Rojo de Steffy eventually joined the majority, but Naito soldiered on.

The Oregonian didn’t mention the Oregon Restaurant Association, but I assumed that their fingerprints were all over the opposition. This note seems to confirm my suspicion.

The Restaurant Association is often something of a sheep in wolf’s clothing. On a national level, the tobacco industry uses the National Restaurant Association as its surrogate on issues like smoke free bars and restaurant rules. The same is apparently true on a local level.  They also get involved in gambling issues.  The point is that I’m not a fan, and it’s nice to see them lose something that obviously matters to them.

As to the substantive issue, I have to wonder why opponents are so torqued about this one.  We hear a lot about personal responsibility, choice, and free markets from those who advocate less regulation. Cool beans. But see, the only thing that is going on here is that consumers are getting more information so that they can make informed choices. I guess I have to wonder what’s wrong with giving consumers more information.

David Sugerman