Re: Bernie Sanders wants to take back “family values” from the GOP
The war on poverty has been an abject failure on every level. I'm not sure how to solve it (I've tossed out the idea of eliminating all entitlements, and providing a small guaranteed income for all, which (along with single-payer healthcare) would provide all the social safety I think I'd ever care to supply my fellow Americans while still providing incentive to better oneself (unlike means-tested benefits). I'd dump the whole current means-tested entitlement systems, ideally.
there is no way to solve it. the fact is there will always be rich people there will always be poor people. the object is to do the best for the most people.
I don't like mean tested entitlements either it prevents people from getting ahead. it keeps them on the system and makes it harder to get off.
Barring the above, I see no reason entitlements such as welfare & disability couldn't be curtailed substantially; strictly from anecdotal experience, a huge number of the recipients I know are abusing the system - easily 1/2 of the one's I know, maybe more (I know this is not a statistical sample - but I'd cut them drastically).
they are drastically abused systems. they need reformed in how they function not gutted.
If we were to cut the current entitlements, along with closing some of the tax loopholes I listed in my prior post, I'd like us to then zero-out the deficit and use the rest for sensible social programs that are not means tested, along with infrastructure improvement. I'd also toss a few obligatory bucks at the national debt, just to look good.
I prefer gutting the entire tax system in general and starting over. with something more simply less complicated. promote business growth and function while paying down the deficit and debt by getting rid of the 500+b dollars in government waste every year.
As to single-payer healthcare, I'm not sure where your figures of 40-60% "tax" come from, but we are already have 43% of our fellow Americans being provided single-payer healthcare in this country (Medicare, MedicAid, Disability) - I'd extend it (MediCare) for all in a sliding fashion over quite a few years so as to not shock the system. I'd keep our current private provider system, so most accurately we'd have a single-payer/private provider system. As to costs, they'd have to be curtailed absolutely - I believe this is the key. Other countries have done this, and quite a few have better healthcare outcomes than we currently do, and they have lower costs as well.
I do believe that combined cost is all taxes together. so any federal income, any healthcare tax and then there is usually a VAT tax on top of it.
as I told helix if you want LCD healthcare then be my guest and you can get LCD healthcare. you can wait a year for an MRI or 6 months to see a specialist or you can
wait months to see a GP.
then there is the fact that the government won't cover everything which means you then need private insurance to cover what they won't.
then of course if you make so much money you pay double what someone else will pay simply because you make more.
me I prefer access to a doctor whenever I need it.
they have lower costs because we do most of the work here. US does much of the medical RnD.
also you can't get all the medicine that you can get here in the US. their governments restrict what drugs you can get and have access to if they cover them at all.
yep curtailing costs is key but a single payer doesn't curb costs it just changes who is paying for it. it doesn't make it cheaper.
I prefer something similar to what Singapore has. their system work and their system works well and their government spends way less on it.
what you have to wonder if why a hospital will advertise a CT for 2000 dollar your insurance it is 1000 but if you pay cash it is 250 dollars.
cash is king and cash is cheaper. most hospitals will give a 80-90% discount up front if you can pay in cash no insurance required.
that is what we need to look at. there are doctors that accept only cash. they charge 50 dollars per adult 20 dollars per kid and about 100 per elderly a month for full access to their offices.
if the government allows for a 5000 healthcare credit that would cover a family of 4 for a year. that doesn't include what you put in and what your company will contribute as well.
Medical Bills Going Down If You Pay Cash
we can do away with insurance all together pay cash and get the best price possible.