March 4, 2019
I was born and raised in France. There, I went to school and worked. I paid my share of French taxes.
I moved to the States in 1993. I became an American citizen in 2004. I grew up with free college and universal healthcare. How do they work?
What democrats are running on for the next election seems great, even if it is nothing but old news. 100-year-old news. It makes sense that the biggest proponents of these old ideas are Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.
A lot of rallying cries. Free college! Medicare for All! Like the ad, free, free, free!
Unless these politicians come up with very innovative solutions, I bet they will copy the European model for both education and healthcare.
Free college:
Yes, it will be free… for the ones that get very good grades and excel at entrance exams. Only the brightest students will be entitled to a free ride.
If a politician promises free college for all that want to attend, this politician lies. It is that simple.
Unless that politician is aiming at turning the U.S. into a communist federation. And even in a communist country, only the top kids go to college for free. Why spend everybody’s money on anyone but the best?
We will pay for the kids that make it, as well as for a new federal department that will oversee the program. A new tax will be imposed on our salaries.
We will not have a choice. It will not matter one bit if we do not have children to send to college. It will not matter if our kids do not make the cut, or maybe only one out of our three kids goes. It will not matter if college is not something that our kid chooses to go through.
We will still pay.
We will pay from our first paycheck. We will pay until our last retirement deposit. How much will we pay?
It would be nice for a change if we were given a figure. We would then be in a better position to decide. Is free college worth that pay cut? It may be if it is reasonable. Will it be?
Medicare for All:
As for free college, an extra tax will be collected on salaries. In France, employees pay about 8% of their gross income towards this healthcare tax. Employers, an extra 13%.
I wish the press would ask for a clear price tag from the democrats running on the Medicare for All platform. Will 8% be enough? Will more be needed?
Over-the-counter drugs will not be covered, antibiotics will.
Pharmaceutical drugs are cheap in Europe. Very cheap. I still do not understand how pharmaceutical companies get away with what they charge Americans. Instead of raising taxes and promising a mediocre coverage, maybe the democrats should work on making prescription drugs affordable instead?
Only a strict number of specialized procedures will be allowed. For more, it will be out-of-pocket. Patients will be placed on a waiting list for non-essential surgery. It will be months or years before a hip or knee is replaced. If it is not life threatening, we will learn to live on pain killers and cortisone shots.
When I lived in France, the copay for doctor’s visits was 40% of the fee. I heard it is even more now. Money ran out. Some visits, if they are deemed unnecessary or “too frequent”, are not covered. There is no use complaining. An all-too-powerful administration has the final say.
For comprehensive coverage, a complementary private insurance plan will be needed. Medicare for All will provide the bare minimum at a hefty price tag.
The way I see it, both programs, should we vote for them, will significantly raise our taxes, and create new bureaucrats. Do we need them?
I am not so sure.
On the college front, there are ways to minimize the costs. There are scholarships, some so good that they do provide a free education. Two years in a community college is not a bad idea either. It is affordable, the kid gets an associate degree and sees if he or she wants to pursue a bachelor. That kid can even start working for a company that will pay for a degree in exchange for some years of service. Is free college worth a lifetime of extra taxes?
On the Universal Healthcare side, do we want a significant decline in care? A better idea would be to allow hospitals to accept private “members”. What about paying our closest hospital a monthly fee of, for the sake of discussion, $100 per month per family member that we would like covered? In exchange, if we need a doctor or a procedure, “our” hospital takes care of us. If we need nothing, great! We are healthy and that $100 goes to help someone else. Just an idea…
But maybe, both Free College and Medicare for All are just ways to raise our taxes and create more government workers with our blessing?
Katrin L.
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