Writing can feel like a solitary exercise but it isn’t really. Not in our connected age. For that, I’m grateful. After I wrote today about why Elizabeth Warren should never ever say that she’s going to raise taxes to pay for universal health care, I read this:
"If the Democrats run on Medicare for All, we will lose in a landslide. You cannot plan to rob every full-time worker in American of a significant part of their total compensation (the health insurance employers subsidize) and get elected."
That comment came from Burgs. I don’t know his, her or their real name. But I do know that’s a great point I haven’t heard much about. Warren and others supporting universal health care are right to talk about costs more than taxes. I don’t think anyone, however, has addressed this problem: the appearance of a pay cut.
Like or not, our economic system care has priced-in the cost of health insurance into the price of labor. If I’m right, and I’m open to correction, the program of universal health care that the Democrats are talking about might eliminate that cost, and in doing so give the appearance of a pay cut, even though there would be no such cut. You would still be taking home the same wages. Your gross pay would just be smaller.
As I said, open to correction. Maybe I’m overthinking this. What I do know is that I haven’t seen anyone debate this even on the level of political optics. Thoughts?
—John Stoehr
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An equally large problem is that employers are not likely to pass on the savings they'd accrue from not having to buy insurance. That's not how capitalism works.
Sanders has been messaging this exact cost transfer for some time. 2 debates ago, in the post-debate interview, he was asked "aren't you going to raise taxes to fund your Medicare for all plan?" He appropriately responded (and I'm paraphrasing), "Stop it with this Republican talking point. The reality is you're already paying for your healthcare through employer-deducted premium with co-pays, deductibles and other expenses on top. I don't know what you call those insurance costs but I call them taxes! All I'm doing is transferring those payments from employer deductions to Medicare for all deductions." This is a VERY difficult talking point for the average American who doesn't pay much attention to understand: Medicare for all isn't a new tax. It's a transfer of to whom you already contribute for your healthcare.