I don't think if we had been ...

I don't think if we had been able to make that choice rationally, we would have said that's what we want to do. We would have said: "Can't we save the banks and solve our health care problems?" The answer is yes. You could have.
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 Joseph Stiglitz

Quotes from the same author

Health care is very different from other sectors of the economy in several respects, one of which is the fact that the risk can be very high beyond people's ability. That leads to insurance.
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 Joseph Stiglitz
There is a growing consensus that the European systems have worked better than the American: They have been able to deliver better health care to more people at lower cost.
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 Joseph Stiglitz
They [free market policies] were never based on solid empirical and theoretical foundations, and even as many of these policies were being pushed, academic economists were explaining the limitations of markets for instance, whenever information is imperfect, which is to say always.
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 Joseph Stiglitz
We could have saved Wall Street without putting our future in jeopardy. I predicted that there would be all-around consequences - in the long run as well as in the short run. People are now saying we can't afford health care reform because we spent all the money on the banks. So, in effect, we're saying that it's better that we give rich bankers a couple of trillion than giving ordinary Americans access to health care.
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 Joseph Stiglitz
Not everybody is qualified to go to Stanford, but everybody should have access to the best qualify for which they are eligible.
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 Joseph Stiglitz