Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) became the latest in a string of Democratic presidential candidates to openly support the Left’s latest unifying policy, Medicare for All, which will supposedly provide all U.S. residents with medical care.
Their policy promises, however, are neither moral nor based in reality. The United States healthcare system is like a train with countless carriages providing a huge range of options, from basic economy seats to upper class suites. Some carriages might be expensive, but if you can get on the train, you are likely to arrive at your destination. The Democrat’s Medicare for All train will be late, the toilets won’t work, and even if you’re lucky enough to find a working seat, the train will derail long before you reach your destination.
The Train Tracks Aren’t Laid Straight
Democrats continually base political arguments on the assumption of moral superiority, and their support for Medicare for All is no different. They want their supporters to believe that healthcare is a right, owed to them by the federal government. However, this is another example of Leftist policy which sounds good, but exists only in an unethical fantasy. While there clearly should not be any legislative barriers to healthcare access, it is preposterous to believe that healthcare itself is a right.
Healthcare is a service, and the Democrats willingly ignore that you do not have a right to someone else’s labor. Medicare for All would give them power over the labor of all who work in the medical industry. The fundamental principle of individual freedom on which the United States is built is simply an inconvenient barrier, which Democrats will overcome using the promise of “free” healthcare.
The Train Tracks Are Built On Sand
Independent studies estimate that the cost of Medicare for All would be around $30 trillion over 10 years. This would bloat the federal budget, which already dedicates almost $2 trillion per year to entitlements, by approximately 40%. Ignoring that the top 20% of earners in the United States pay over 85% of income taxes, politicians glibly demand that the rich pay their “fair share” to foot the bill. Wealthy Americans already pay more than their fair share, and the radical obsession with increased taxes is nothing short of theft.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has also stated that Medicare for All would save Americans $2 trillion in 10 years. He bases this on the fact that, if implemented perfectly, Medicare for All would result in a decrease in the “national health expenditure,” which includes money spent on healthcare by individuals.
Sanders and the radical wing of the Democrat party see no difference between money spent voluntarily by individuals, and money spent by the federal government. This blatant and arrogant disrespect of the importance of free choice of enterprise and commerce highlights the fundamental immorality of Medicare for All.
The Train Will Have Broken Seats, Cracked Windows, And An Overflowing Toilet
The Iron Triangle of Healthcare, defined by William Kissick, posits that healthcare can prioritize at most two of three fundamental characteristics: access, quality, and cost. This means that healthcare policies can be:
Highly-accessible and high-quality, but hugely expensive.
Highly-accessible and low-cost, but low quality.
High-quality and low-cost, but with low accessibility.
The Democrat promise of high-quality, highly-accessible, and low-cost healthcare is impossible to achieve. Given that the goal of Medicare for All is to provide widespread medical coverage, they will have to sacrifice the quality of healthcare.
The high cost of American healthcare funds an astounding amount of medical research and development, providing American patients with access to cutting-edge medicine and technology. The United States healthcare system leads the world regarding preventative care, cancer survival, treatment of chronic diseases, and malpractice protection for patients. Medicare for All would not only eradicate these benefits, but also cause the world to suffer from the lack of American medical innovation.
If the Train’s Toilet Is Overflowing, We Shouldn’t Have To Get On
Finally, we return to another fundamental principle which underpins the concept of individual freedom: Choice. Currently, the quality of care received in the United States is limited only by your wallet. While this may seem unfair to some, your choice remains free from government interference. Medicare for All would signal the end of this fundamental freedom of choice. With the government controlling access to healthcare, they would also control the distribution of healthcare. In socialized healthcare systems, with supposedly universal access, it is not uncommon for patients to wait months (if not years) for treatment.
Sometimes, patients even die on these waiting lists. The government also has the final say regarding what treatment you can receive, as well as when and where. Many on the Left believe that the government should have power over every aspect of life. Medicare for All would effectively allow them to wield power over life and death.
The American healthcare system is far from perfect. There are many areas which require drastic improvement. We should approach these areas with specific and targeted policies, while maintaining what makes the United States a world-leader in medical quality and innovation.
If you can buy a ticket, you can decide whether or not to board any train. If you can afford the upgrade, you can sit in any level of carriage you choose. If we allow the deception of Medicare for All to continue, especially with politicians like Kamala Harris insinuating that they want to get rid of all private insurance options, we will be left with only one train that we have to board.
Sure, everyone can get on, if it arrives. Your seat might be broken, the air conditioning won’t work, and you’ll need to be wary of the overflowing toilet. If the train doesn’t derail, it will continuously run out of fuel, and you’ll see Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez marching up and down the aisles demanding more gas money from coughing passengers. When we finally run out of rich people to tax, we’ll be left, staring out of a broken window, wondering how it all went so wrong.