I want to share a couple of facts with you and then, like Jonathan Swift, make a modest proposal.
Fact 1:. The current population of the United States of America is around 330,000,000 living human beings plus, of course, an indeterminate number of dead ones who manage to vote in every election. At some point after the next decennial census (for readers in Alabama, that means a census that occurs every 10 years) takes place next spring we will have a more exact number to report in the living human being category.
Fact 2: According to a study released by George Mason University in 2018, the “Medicare for All” plan pushed by Senator Bernie Sanders and endorsed by a host of Democratic congressional and presidential hopefuls would increase government health care spending by $32.6 trillion over 10 years. Several other studies have been completed since then, and all are in the same ballpark, give or take a few trillion dollars here or there. To make our calculations easier, let's round that $32.6T to an even $33T.
Anybody guessed where I am going with this? No? Read on.
After learning those two facts, I had an "Aha!" moment that resulted in this Modest Proposal that I now present for your consideration:.
Whereas Our Glorious Leader is so busy doing things of great importance like pulling troops out of Syria and trying to avoid impeachment and trying to decide where to host the next G7 summit without violating the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution that he doesn't need to worry his pretty little orange head over a little thing like administering $33 trillion for healthcare, and
Whereas the 435 members of the United States House of Representatives and the 100 members of the United States Senate are also so busy doing things of great importance like trying to impeach Our Glorious Leader and criticizing him when he does such things as suddenly pulling troops out of places like Syria and scheduling G7 summits at his very own hotel in Miami, Florida, thus violating the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution, and we mustn't forget constantly fundraising to ensure their own re-election to the aforementioned House of Representatives and Senate that they have no time for such minor things as creating new laws and government agencies and finding ways to pay 33 trillion dollars for their constituents' healthcare without enraging said constituents, and
Whereas the author of this document noticed how evenly 33 trillion dollars can be divided among 330 million people, and
Whereas our government leaders can create as many postage stamps, certificates of citizenship, coins, and pieces of paper currency as they wish and no one can do anything to stop them,
Therefore, be it resolved that every living human being in the United States of American be given one million dollars ($1,000,000 USD) and let him or her take care of his or her own darned healthcare henceforth, even now and forever.
(end of proposal)
There, I did it and I'm glad, and if you think this proposal is bad, you should read the one Jonathan Swift made back in 1729.
P.S. —- Oops, I made a little boo-boo in my math. Giving 330 million people a million dollars each equals 330 trillion dollars, not 33 trillion dollars. You’ll be receiving only a hundred thousand dollars, not a million dollars, and it has to last for ten years. That’s only ten thousand dollars per year, which may not cover some people’s healthcare expenses. Best we not reveal the mistake and let them give us the full million dollars proposed. Besides, government estimates are so notoriously low that the actual cost may end up being 330 trillion dollars anyway, so all’s well that ends well.
P.P.S. —- As Senator Everett Dirksen of Illinois said many years ago, “A few billion here, a few billion there, pretty soon you’re talking real money.”
There is a lot of beauty in your modest proposal and it would certainly be cheaper and simpler than the crazy Medicare for all proposals. Your manifesto made me smile.
ReplyDeleteTerra, thank you for commenting but no, it would not be cheaper, it would merely give the money directly to the populace instead of letting doctors and hospitals collect it from the federal government. I am glad it made you smile.
DeleteThank goodness for that Jomathan. I thought you were going to suggest eating them again.
ReplyDeleteTasker Dunham, thank you for addressing me the way I prefer to be addressed when I am identifying with Mr. Swift. I would never suggest eating Irish babies. Perhaps some others, but not Irish.
DeleteHa ha, I love it!
ReplyDeleteHave you thought about running for office? you could bring back common sense and decency to the presidency and congress. ;)
Kathy, I hope I am wrong but I think common sense and decency are forever lost in the mists of time in the dear, dead days beyond recall.
DeletePlease don't go there.
ReplyDeleteWe have a National Health Service which is not only the envy of the world but is prepared to treat the world. It main beneficiary is it's employees. They fanny about health checking as the GPs get paid for that. Do they check anything that can't be done with a bit of software and a blood pressure thingy at home?
I found having told the GP I used to use to cancel my subscription that ten years later he is still claiming for me. I bet they are still claiming for dead folk. Crooks they are. He has been reported and is not happy. Lessons have been learn't etc. Not good enough. He was next to useless as a doctor and never would have made snake oil salesman.
I think we should reduce taxation and make folk pay for health care. People wanting a good job done tend to do so anyway. It's not very expensive to get a busted leg mended and almost impossible to find a thoracic surgeon who is competent and will guarantee his ministrations leaving one better. Impossible to find no improvement/no fee contract here. Buggers can practise their practice for free in our NHS.
Don't go there. It's an idle socialists dream, it ticks boxes, allows folk with minimal skill to command a salary and is totally unfit for purpose.
Adrian, I'll mark you down as an Undecided.
DeleteI am endlessly grateful for our universal healthcare. It isn't perfect, and has some holes which need plugging but I am more than happy to pay extra tax to contribute.
ReplyDeleteE.C. (Sue), you have taken the pragmatic approach.
DeleteThe thing that's missing in the plan is how much it costs if you don't have a plan. Too many health conditions are ignored until they cost real money. What about quality of living? How much does poor quality of living cost. How much does good quality of living save. Health care is not just a matter of dollars and cents. The politicians are not looking at the whole picture.
ReplyDeleteRed, with my proposal no one needs a plan. Instead, everyone receives a million-dollar stash from which to take care of whatever health problems arise. If that's not enough money, tough. The bigger the family, the more money the household would receive because EVERY person in the country will get a million dollars.
DeleteI hope you know that I am not being serious.
I believe the UK NHS spending is something like $2,200 p.a. per person, and when you add private spending it doubles to around $4,500, compared with in the US nearly $10,000. The UK is something like 17th in the league table of spending per head, suggesting the NHS is very efficient. I really do take issue with Adrian's post above on almost every point. Obviously, no large organisation will be problems-free but, basically, he does not describe the NHS I know.
ReplyDeleteTasker, I recognise it is sacred. It's not all bad but there is no mechanism for folk to sort the bad from the good. No other country has adopted it which even allowing for the ineptitude of politicians must give people a clue.
DeleteIt will become unaffordable once PFI contracts really start to bite. The alternative is to cancel the contracts but you can only do that once.
I will accept your figures as I can't be bothered to refute them. The pound sign is usually just left of the dollar sign but no matter, you are on Bob's Blog so assume you are being polite.
I am getting old but have thankfully not needed treatment for over fifteen years, though I do feel rough for about 10% of the time. I know several humans and not so human humans who are forever down the doctors been doctored. Lazy buggers for the most part. They are the minority and the least healthy. So if your $2.2k is an average then per individual affording themselves of the service the cost must be much higher.
Be very careful where statistics are concerned. Unless they state average they could be using mean or norm. It's an interesting conundrum only fully understood by statisticians and posh computer programmers.
Lovely plan RWP. You'll just have to take a bit off each person and give it to the children that are born in the next ten years. Oh, some of it might just be able to be recouped from those that cease to be living.
ReplyDeleteKate, the key to my proposal working successfully is to have it automatically renew every ten years in the amount of whatever the government-estimated cost is then, divided by the population at the time. The census will finally have become useful to the ordinary citizen beyond his wildest dreams.
DeleteI wonder how much Americans currently pay for private health insurance? Those hefty premiums also include creamed off profits for insurance companies and investors. With a comprehensive medicare landscape in the future, there will be no need for private health insurance and that monstrous industry will simply shrivel and expire with the vast wealth involved being redirected to health care for all.
ReplyDeleteBugger Americans. I pay £1047,00p a year. Just to have a choice.
DeleteYour socialist nonsense is just that. Rubbish. They cream the system and how. My ex-practice have been claiming for me for fifteen years. I want that money back. Bad enough paying tax, worse paying twice. Useless twats.