It's the weekend!

This week went by really quickly since I only had to work three days. I went to a conference on Thursday and Friday at the National Press Club. The conference was an annual event for the National Academy of Social Insurance. It was part of my class on domestic policy, so I got class credit and lots of random information about health insurance out of it.

The conference topic was the viability of universal health care (of widely varying sorts) both politically and in terms of policy. I knew next to nothing about health insurance before going into the conference and came out really intrigued by the whole topic. While the largest portion of the federal budget goes toward welfare instruments such as Medicare/Medicaid and Social Security, the broader topic of the future of health insurance in the US is generally ignored at UNC. I feel that for such a liberal cause, it's not one often championed by college students. Forty-seven million Americans are without health insurance right now, out of a total population of about 300 million. That seems troubling at best, and although I shy away from the "universal health care" label, I find it hard to ignore the inherent inequalities in the health care system or the fact that something should be done.

Unfortunately, I come to that conclusion after two days of intensive panels, speakers, and breakout sessions in an organization that certainly leaned to the left. While political alignment is hardly a flaw, it typically signals a reason to be wary of drawing conclusions without giving the other side a chance. Some of the speakers, I will admit, claimed to be conservatives or from conservative institutions. Regardless, I need more information. I highly doubt I will ever develop more than a cursory knowledge of the health care industry or the complexities of its reform, but I know it's my duty as a citizen and as a voter to make myself as aware of the situation as it is.

All of that said, it was impossible not to sense a feeling of change at the conference. Not for the first time, I appreciated the opportunity to be in DC during the election season. With national politics possibly tilting left and the window of opportunity, as some put it at the conference, about to open for a remarkably short amount of time immediately after the inauguration, it will fascinating to see where we stand a year from now. While that will only be days into the next presidency, I have a feeling that the national mood will be telling of the possibility of change to come. Perhaps that mood won't translate into significant reform, but the hope is certainly there.

As for the weekend, I haven't done anything too exciting. Today I went to a local diner for breakfast and visited the National Building Museum. The building itself was pretty cool. The exhibits were less impressive, but the exhibit about the city construction itself was interesting.

We also went to Eastern Market, a great place to get produce and meat, and vendors outside have small tables set up with jewelry, scarves, pictures, furniture, and more food. I really enjoy going there just to see what the vendors have, and the weather today was perfect. Also it's usually crowded with a wide variety of people, so that's always interesting. I got some fruit and decided I would go back for more in a few days. I need to stock up on groceries soon. I'm almost out of Raisin Bran!

I went out to an Indian restaurant tonight for dinner and had a great chicken dish. I can't remember what it was called, but it tasted great. The service wasn't that great, but for the most part that's the norm here. I haven't figured out if that's because our groups are clearly comprised of college students who give typically measly tips, or if it's because that's how most people are treated in restaurants. It's a little annoying, but I'm getting used to it.

I don't have any pictures as of yet to put up. I didn't take any today at the building museum. Eastern Market really isn't photo-worthy either, to be honest. You should come experience it for yourself.

So I guess that's all for now. I'll keep you posted if anything else thrilling happens this weekend. Thanks for reading!