A lot of people are condemning Bernie’s platform as impossible due to the cost of his programs. There is a way it can be made to work. Here is how:
Start with the student loan forgiveness program. It would only cost about 1.5 trillion dollars and while that is substantial, it t***slates to just over $20,000.00 tax obligation for the average family of four or about $5,000.00 from every man, woman and child, citizen, of the United States. That is not an insurmountable obstacle and it would only be a temporary additional tax to be lifted when the debt is retired.
Then, there is the Medicare for all program, That is figured to cost about $10,000,000,000,000 per year. That would increase the tax load. An annual estimate figures to be about $120,000.00 per family of four or $30,000.00 per individual. Unfortunately, that would be a permanent additional tax.
This creates a bit of a problem. The bulk of the population, where most of the money is, doesn’t earn that much individually and taking everything the people earn could not be sustained for long, even if the government would provide food and housing at no cost for everyone.
There is a way around that.
The reason the cost is so high is due to two things, the salaries paid to upper level health care workers, doctors and such, and the cost associated with medical diagnostics. Since the government would be in control of the medical businesses, from innovation to execution, the government can reduce the amount paid to the people providing those services, just as they do now for Medicare patients’ billings. They can do that for all of the people’s medical bills. That would reduce considerably the total annual cost of healthcare.
That creates a bit of a problem. The people who are attracted to the healthcare field are so attracted for basically one of two reasons; the high earnings potential and the desire to help people. It is probable that those looking for high earnings would seek it elsewhere. So, we would face a likely shortage of doctors and other medical personnel.
There is a way around that.
The government could establish a national wage scale for all professions and jobs just like Germany and other European nations do.
https://eutraining.eu/salary-calculatorIt is similar to how wages for US government and military positions are determined. That would likely result in more people selecting for the higher paid positions in all businesses since all would then be regulated.
That creates a bit of a problem. Earning potential is also limited under that system. Every individual would know in advance exactly what his or her potential benefit would be and they could structure their education and training according to their financial desires, although that also creates a bit of a problem. It tends to create a class conscious society.
There is a way around that.
Government education can instill in children the knowledge and ideology of gaining for society from those most able to produce and public support for those unable to produce sufficiently. That fits well with a class conscious society because it establishes a clear set of expectations in every child and they can, early in their youth, recognize their place in a successfully and efficiently structured society.
That creates a bit of a problem. Under that system, it has been shown that inspiration, dedication and innovation all suffer. The system is called socialism and it has never worked successfully anywhere in the world where it has been tried and it has been tried all over the world.
There doesn’t seem to be any way around that…