Public Health Approach to the Financial Crisis

From Paul Krugman’s NYTimes column: 

The logic of the crisis seems to call for an intervention, not at step 4, but at step 2: the financial system needs more capital. And if the government is going to provide capital to financial firms, it should get what people who provide capital are entitled to — a share in ownership, so that all the gains if the rescue plan works don’t go to the people who made the mess in the first place.

I have no background in economics[1] so most analyses of the current financial crisis are above my head.  Regardless of my ignorance, his logic is a great example of a public health approach for intervening with a social problem: intervene as far “upstream” as possible.  I’m not sure this is a great analogy, however.  My impression is that the financial crisis is a full-blown disease at this point.  As such, secondary (preventing it from progressing) or even tertiary (in this case, preventing a full-blown collapse) preventive measures is a necessity.  Only when the disease has been stabilized (or is in recovery) can primary preventive interventions be employed. 

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[1] I took a required “principles of microeconomics” course as an undergrad, though the only thing I learned was that the instructor’s daughter has a successful flower business in DC.

Unhealthiness

Grad school has to be one of the unhealthiest things I’ve done in life, and I can’t get over the irony.  My field is health education and behavioral sciences (i.e. studying how to get people to practice healthy behaviors), yet I consistently fail to practice them myself.  As I’m typing this, there’s a half drunken Coke on my desk, BBQ chips on the table behind me, and my running shoes are neatly tucked away in the back of my closet.  Over the last two years, I’ve gained almost 25 pounds (~11kg) and am the heaviest I’ve ever been (for the first time in my life – to my knowledge – my BMI is in the overweight category, though barely).  And it’s not just me.  My classmates who are ahead of me (i.e. working on their dissertation) say they finally have the time to fit exercise into their schedules, while my trailing classmates (i.e. started the program after me) complain that they no longer have time to exercise, eat healthy, relax, etc.  And that’s only the physical aspect of health.  This weekend, I hit up a few bars with a college friend, which was the first time since February I spent any sort of time with my friends (other than an occasional night with classmates, but I’m not sure that counts because the topic invariably turns to public health, school, academia, or research).  Grad school has been quite an isolating experience socially.  Oddly enough, I can’t remember it being like this when I was getting my master’s degree.  Oh and then there are things like buying a house or apartment (everyone seems to be doing it and I’m sick of paying rent), having kids (I want them but I don’t think it’s doable while I’m still in grad school, yet if I don’t I’ll be “older” – i.e. mid-30s – when I start), and general financial concerns I worry about (funding isn’t that great and I’m gettting married in August). 

 

Still, I would do it againt.