Medicare for All and Lower Taxes!

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Politics Chatboard

Medicare for All and Lower Taxes!

by T.E.C. - Iowa

Sep 17, 2017

I cannot figure out why conservatives do not want the lower taxes (or extra, freed-up taxes for something else) that would go with getting rid of our current for-profit system. The article below says:

(Quote)

We spend $3.2 trillion per year — literally twice as much as the OECD average as a share of the economy. We pay enough in health-care taxes alone — that is, the government revenue that goes to Medicare, Medicaid, the VA, and a few other things — to cover a Canada-style Medicare-for-all system for the whole U.S., and then that much again in private money. In other words, if we could simply copy-paste Canada's universal health-care system into America, taxes would actually go down.

(End quote)

Well, either taxes could go down or the government would cover everything. Canada spends $4600 per person on health care. The US spends $9450 per person (2015). Of that about $4600 per person is government expenditure and the remainder is private costs...See More

Why Bernie Sanders' Single-Payer Push Is Great Policy and Even Better Politics

A few important things to be clear about... Bernie Sanders unveiled his latest version of a Medicare-for-all plan on Wednesday, to a highly unusual level of media attention and support within the Democratic Party. A third of the party's Senate caucus have

Common Dreams | commondreams.org

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Tim Finnegan NPR seems to disagree with you. The Bernie-care plan by the democrat from VT isn't really that planned out when it comes to payment. Maybe it's the possible 7.5% payroll tax on employers (now, you don't seriously think employers won't pass the costs of that tax on to their employees, do you?) or the 4% tax increase on individuals that may be includ...See More

Here's What's In Bernie Sanders' 'Medicare For All' Bill

Don't understand what the independent Vermont senator's single-payer plan is? Here are the bullet points. (For starters, his new program would not look a whole lot like Medicare.)

NPR.org | npr.org

Sep 18, 2017

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T.E.C. - Iowa Something all Americans need to face is both the old system and Obamacare have failed. We are still paying double what other countries are paying for worse healthcare. Worse, the costs continue to increase. This is unsustainable. If we do not do something, this system will collapse.

I would argue, given our history, Medicare for All, is wh...See MoreSomething all Americans need to face is both the old system and Obamacare have failed. We are still paying double what other countries are paying for worse healthcare. Worse, the costs continue to increase. This is unsustainable. If we do not do something, this system will collapse.

I would argue, given our history, Medicare for All, is what will happen next. We can either make it work or we can sabotage it because we hate socialism. Remember, Portugal has half the GDP per capita of the US, and they have made single payer work.

About higher taxes, if you want world class healthcare (and education, infrastructure, and more) you have to pay for it. Therein, is the most annoying part of the Republican philosophy - they want to pay for nothing! And, of course, the other annoying part is, they want no part in paying to help any of their fellow citizens. Yet, ask Americans if they would pay more taxes in exchange for their insurance premiums disappearing. You will likely get a resounding "Yes!"

Some other points, it is not true that employers will always "pass the costs of that tax on to their employees." Economics is more complex than this simple thinking. Many times it is not possible for employers to pass on cost without negatively impacting their business. Simply put, this is a conservative myth!

And finally, regarding "the receptionists, salespeople, janitors, and others who will be shown the door", this is the dumbest argument ever! Where was this argument when we were exporting jobs from this country by the millions? Answer: nowhere to be seen. This thinking only appears when the ox being gored is owned by the rich!

But in an economic vein, Americans are the stupid ones for allowing a nonproductive segment of the economy to grow out of proportion - be it health insurance, banking, the real estate industry, and more. Once this is done, there is a price to pay when the economy must return to an emphasis on those who truly create wealth.

The argument that we should continue the private health insurance industry for the sake of the jobs is economic insanity. As nonproductive segments of your economy grow larger and larger the eventual economic adjustment just gets larger and larger. As a friend of mind said about the auto industries current ever increasing debt on car loans, "We should stop, and jump off the ladder when we are only 10 feet up. But no, we will keep things going until we are 100 feet up, and then we are forced to jump!"

The same is true with health care! If you create jobs in an unsustainable industry, people will eventually suffer - and the longer you keep that industry growing, the greater will be the damage.

PS: So Tim, tell us what your answer is. You seem to be in favor of continuing the status quo!

PPS: I need to add that the current American diet and the resulting "metabolic syndrome." will bankrupt even Medicare for All. I have been following the biochemistry of nutrition and the last few years have seen a revolution in thinking and our understanding. Simply put, America has also created an industrial food system that is not making America healthy. Rather, the system is making Americans sicker and sicker.

This too is unsustainable, and the eventual readjustment will be painful. However, that is what must always happen when you allow the growth of such industries.

Sep 19, 2017

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Tim Finnegan TEC

Never did I claim to have an answer. I just asked what about the millions that would suddenly become unemployed? You say that it's an awful argument because it was not brought up by anyone when we were exporting jobs from this country. Clearly, neither you, nor the Democrat from Vermont have an answer to that.

You also mention...See More

Sep 19, 2017

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Bob R/CA Obamacare hasn't "failed." It just hasn't solved all of the problems. The good isn't the enemy of the perfect. And the GOP's "solutions" they seem bent on one more vote on, once again catapult us back in the "worse."

Sep 19, 2017

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T.E.C. - Iowa Regarding Tim's post, I wrote that Canada spends about $4600 per person on health care and the government's portion of America's costs is about $4600 per person. These numbers are why I wrote, "either taxes could go down or the government would cover everything." The math says if America's cost dropped to $4600 per person, and citizens still paid p...See More

Sep 20, 2017

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