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Sat 28 Mar, 2015 11:50 am
Does ""it's the prices, stupid" mean "the key is the prices, how stupid you are"?
Context:
Many ask why Americans pay so much for health care, and some claim it is because the health care system in the U.S. is structured differently. However, when it comes to American health care, there are plenty of differing opinions out there. As researchers Gerard Anderson, Uwe Reinhardt, Peter Hussey, and Varduhi Petrosyan put it in the title of their influential 2003 study, "it's the prices, stupid."
The International Federation of Health Plans (IFHP) compiled data covering differences in medical prices by country in its 2013 Comparative Price Report. The organization's annual report compares the total hospital and physician price (USD) of several routine medical procedures. In addition to these procedures, it also shows the price disparity for diagnostics and prescription drugs, which can be drastic. For example, the average price for cancer drug Gleevec ranges from $989 in New Zealand to $6,214 in the U.S. The report also shows the average hospital cost per day as $4,293 in the U.S. but only $481 in Spain and $702 in Argentina.
In this case, the word stupid could be replace with "obviously"
As in you would have to be pretty stupid not to see this.
An informal way of saying this with slang would be "It's the prices, duh"
duh
də/
exclamation informal
used to comment on an action perceived as foolish or stupid, or a statement perceived as obvious.
"I left the keys in the ignition—duh!"
@chai2,
BTW, if someone says something really obvious to you, like your statement, an informal thing to reply would be "You think?" or actually "ya think?", meaning "You think so (duh)?"
For example someone says when walking into an unlit room "It's dark in here" you could reply "Ya think?"
@oristarA,
oristarA wrote:Does ""it's the prices, stupid" mean "the key is the prices, how stupid you are"?
Why do Americans pay so much for X? Because X is expensive! (Other reasons that are advanced are camouflage or propaganda).
It's coming from the same place as "the economy, stupid!", which James Carville had coined as a campaign strategist of Bill Clinton's successful 1992 presidential campaign against sitting president George H. W. Bush.
Carville's original phrase was meant for the internal audience of Clinton's campaign workers as one of the three messages to focus on, the other two messages being "Change vs. more of the same" and "Don't forget health care."
@contrex,
Cool.
"Stupid" only for insiders? For outsiders would it sound offensive?
@oristarA,
What do you mean insiders or outsiders?
@chai2,
chai2 wrote:
What do you mean insiders or outsiders?
Insider: a member of a group; ingroup.
Outsider: one who is not a member of a group; outgroup.
@oristarA,
oristarA wrote:
Does ""it's the prices, stupid" mean "the key is the prices, how stupid you are"?
Context:
Many ask why Americans pay so much for health care, and some claim it is because the health care system in the U.S. is structured differently. However, when it comes to American health care, there are plenty of differing opinions out there. As researchers Gerard Anderson, Uwe Reinhardt, Peter Hussey, and Varduhi Petrosyan put it in the title of their influential 2003 study, "it's the prices, stupid."
The International Federation of Health Plans (IFHP) compiled data covering differences in medical prices by country in its 2013 Comparative Price Report. The organization's annual report compares the total hospital and physician price (USD) of several routine medical procedures. In addition to these procedures, it also shows the price disparity for diagnostics and prescription drugs, which can be drastic. For example, the average price for cancer drug Gleevec ranges from $989 in New Zealand to $6,214 in the U.S. The report also shows the average hospital cost per day as $4,293 in the U.S. but only $481 in Spain and $702 in Argentina.
It's a derogatory term of address.
"Tie your shoes, idiot."
"It's raining. Take your umbrella, dummy."
"Don't touch a red hot stove, fool."
You could also read it as "you idiot/dummy/fool" with the "you" elided.
@oristarA,
oristarA wrote:
Cool.
"Stupid" only for insiders? For outsiders would it sound offensive?
In-group vs out-group. Yes, in person it would be used with in-group peers. Saying something like that to an out-group person would be quite offensive.
Jeeze . . . when the elder George Bush ran against Bill Clinton for the office of President in 1992, even though he was the incumbent President, he quickly fell behind in the polls because he didn't understand that the most important issue was the economy. Clinton's campaign manager, James Carville, made a series of remarks for campaign workers to keep in mind, to focus on, for defeating Bush. One of his remarks was "the economy, stupid." The phrase became known to the press, and when George Bush went into a supermarket, and expressed surprise and wonder at a scanner (because he never went to the store to buy things for himself), it passed into the press and legend. This is just a variation on that theme.
Let us welcome this veteran. Welcome back.
Thank you for bringing us an interesting story, Setanta.
Thank you all guys. It is crystal clear now.
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