Oh boy.
I probably shouldn't jump in here as I am new and talking politics usually doesn't end well, but I will because I would like to see if we can all start focusing on goals instead of attacking each other. (I am not trying to accuse anyone on here of doing that, it's just the way this conversation always seems to unfold and we never seem to get anywhere as a nation.)
I have come to my position on health care (and most public policy) after looking long and hard at some facts that I find horribly disturbing:
Our health care costs are higher than those of any other developed nation.
We have the worst outcomes.
Medical school enrollment has been declining for decades.
The leading cause of bankruptcy in the US is due to medical costs.
Our system is broken and we need to fix it. I frankly don't care which model we use if it makes America healthier and more efficient.
I would like to address some misleading and inflammatory ideas that are all too common in this conversation.
Only 50% of workers pay taxes. This is false. It is true that just under 50% of American households pay no income tax. This is because they do not earn enough to owe it. That is as it should be. What the people who throw this figure around forget to mention is that all American workers pay SS/Medicare taxes and FICA. Unless they are wealthy enough to max out their contributions at $106,800 at which point they cease to contribute. In addition, every citizen (and non, for that matter) is subject to taxes in the form of sales and excise taxes, property taxes, and so on.
Since about 1950, the percentage of GDP revenue from personal income tax has remained steady at about 8.5%. Since that time, the percentage of GDP revenue from corporate taxes has fallen from over 6% to under 2%. That is unconscionable.
The term socialism is used to indicate something scary and vaguely un-American which is just laughable given the history of this country. The Boston Common was socialist. Roads are socialist. Law enforcement and public safety is socialist. Medicare and SS are socialist. Libraries are socialist. I'm in favore of all these things and if that makes me a socialist, I really don't care. I want the best for this country and everyone in it.
People often try to claim that we have the best health care system in the world, otherwise, why would so many foreigners come here for care? Well, the fact is they don't. Fewer than 100,000 patients come to the States for treatment while 750,000 Americans travel abroad seeking care. Often, those that do come here, do so because the dollar is in the toilet. Not much to brag about, really.
As to the idea that we should abandon social programs because a tiny percentage of people abuse the system, I don't even know how to respond to that. I mean, who cares? I would rather see 99% of Americans who need it have access to services and live with the 1% who game the system than watch 100% of those in need suffer.
I hope I haven't offended anyone. That was not my intention. I would just, for once, like to see a rational discussion on this topic that was fact-based and goal-oriented. The best proposal I have seen is to open Medicare to all. If anyone has a better solution, I am eager to hear it.
