We'll be meeting for our second book ever (!), reading Maggie Mahar's Money-Driven Medicine.

MDM was recommended by Leif Wellington Haase, the former health care fellow at The Century Foundation and now the guy heading up New America Foundation’s California office. So says Leif:

party and discussion, answering the question: How much should the market play a part in a national health care system?

With Jason Furman, Director of The Hamilton Project at The Brookings Institute - and economist/health care wonk extraordinaire.

The head of Nokia, one of the richest guys in the world, sends his kid to the local public school.

What's up with that?

Join us as we talk about why it is the world's richest nation (ours) still has some pretty crummy public schools. Is it low funding, low expectations, an over-powerful teachers' union or poor parenting that's to blame? What are our best choices to improve our schools?

Bill Brazell will kick off the discussion, taking Finland as foil - and seeing if it leads us to any answers.