This is the key tweet in this thread. You can see how health care is by far the biggest cost-of-living issue (and that housing is less of a problem than people think it is).
Democrats are right to focus on nationalizing health insurance. And Republicans have NO alternative.
Democrats are right to focus on nationalizing health insurance. And Republicans have NO alternative.
Bernie's focus on eliminating out-of-pocket health care costs is smart pro-middle-class politics. It has been successful and I expect it to continue to be successful.
But a national health insurance system needs to have a big focus on cost control.
But a national health insurance system needs to have a big focus on cost control.
IF a national health insurance system doesn't do cost control, it's going to rely on ever-increasing taxes (eventually on the middle class) to fund continually spiraling costs.
BUT, Medicare's relative success shows that a national insurance system COULD be good at cost control.
BUT, Medicare's relative success shows that a national insurance system COULD be good at cost control.
The key question: Will M4A be like our public infrastructure construction system - a spoils system that allows costs to spiral in order to provide more income for the industry?
Or will it be like Medicare, and control costs by negotiating lower prices with providers?
Or will it be like Medicare, and control costs by negotiating lower prices with providers?
Health costs are so central to U.S. unaffordability that all the other affordability issues -- housing, transit, even education -- pale in comparison. If we fix all those other things but don't fix health care costs, Americans will STILL feel squeezed.
So let's fix it.
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So let's fix it.
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