Can't people understand that if taxes go up to fund healthcare, you won't be paying insurance premiums?

Question

And the tax will be less than half of what you're paying now. Same for employers.

Theoretically it is a tax increase, but you'll have more money in your paycheck.

That's why GM is moving production to Canada. It's cheaper to pay the tax than the premium.

DUH!

People say GM is moving to Canada to get rid of the unions, but, surprise, the canadian auto workers are unionized.

Answer 1

That is not true for middle class americans. Just ask any Canadian who makes over 50k a year

Answer 2

This would work IF...

1. We saw a 1 to 1 ratio of a buck more tax for every buck we gain in reduced premiums- but you already know this won't be the case. For this to work this way, the government would have to run the program in a cost-efficient way.

2. We saw the same level of care for the money... another thing you know won't happen. Right now, a person can choose the amount of coverage they want (within financial realities) and have as much choice in the delivery as they wish.

GM is moving because this is right for the CORPORATION, not necessarily because it is right for the WORKERS. In fact, MOST moves by big corps nowadays are BAD for the workers and the American economy.

Using Canada as an example is ineresting- they have far fewer doctors per capita than we do- many citizens routinely use ERs for medical needs and rarely get check-ups. There are long waits for many services, an increasing tendency to pay more and more out of pocket at 'private clinics' rather than using the 'system', and so forth.

What exactly is the crisis? About 26 million Amricans are permanently without insurance, many at their own choice- why should the other 274 million of us give up what we have for them if we don't want to?

I agree that health care costs are out of control- but that seems to be as much an issue of lawsuit insanity and sheer greed as anything else. Will a national plan fix those?

Why do we think the government can fix this, when it has fixed very little else for us? Whenever it TRIES to fix something, it causes headache and heartache in other places as a direct result.

Wouldn't it make more sense to get the health care costs under control (while still allowing a fair profit), then setting up a pool program where insurance companies basically take on the un-insured and the government and the companies share the costs- or some similar program.

Answer 3

Maybe... As others pointed out, people would have to use the treadmills, and there might be fraud in the form of someone getting a free treadmill and then selling it on craig's list or something like that. But there is a good point here in a broader sense. With private insurance, the insurance companies have no incentive to keep their customers healthy long-term. Yes something like lap band surgery might help someone lose weight and avoid much more expensive surgeries years later, but the chance that the customer will have the same insurance company a few decades from now is too slim to factor into the equation. But government-funded single-payer systems will have this concern, and should therefore have an incentive to keep people healthy over the long term. Plus they can also encourage health by way of higher taxes on sugary, fattening foods, rather than caving into the Big Junkfood lobby.

Answer 4

What's the weather like in fantasy land?

Your assumptions that the new taxes will be less than what people are paying now is completely baseless.

Increasing government is not the answer. The bureaucracy and incompetence of the federal government is well documented. Who else pays as much for toilet seats as they do?

BTW- Surprise, Candian labor unions do not have the legacy costs that American labor unions do. When $2000 a car goes to pay for unions and not for anything that goes into the car it's just too much to be able compete with Japanese automakers. That's why they are going across the border.

Answer 5

I am not opposed to socialised medicine because of tax increases- I am opposed to it because it is stupid.

I spend a lot of time in Europe and know many canadians. Their health care systems are horrible- 6-12 hour waits in the ER, bad doctors, poorly stocked hospitals. Anyone who can affort it comes to the USA for treatment. Only the working class cannot do that.

There has to be a better solution to this problem than this.

Answer 6

First of all, Canadians come to the states for decent health care because the only thing good about their socialized health care is cheap prescriptions.

Second, GM is moving to get rid of the overpriced labor unions.

Answer 7

First of all Sway, your portion may be $50 per month, but the total premium is much higher, your emplyer just pays the other part.

Secondly, show us proof that the amount of tax increase will be half of what we are now paying and where the amount will never increase as a % of our tax burden.

Answer 8

Do you understand that the more the government is involved in health care the less health care you get? Go overseas and check out the socialized medicine hospitals, then come home and check out ours. No thanks. You want socialized meds, then go somewhere else. If you think it would be cheaper you are a perfect example of Barnum's famous words. One is born every minute. GM is going to Canada to get rid of the Unions.

Answer 9

your logic is flawed. premiums would stay the same and taxes would go up for a long portion of time, and then there is no guarantee that the government's health care would be any good so you would probably have to still buy private insurance to get decent treatment.

may I suggest that you put on your berkenstocks and attend class, hippie

Answer 10

if universal health care is forced on those you work hard to get their own quality health care, maybe. but not if the universal heath care is made for the poor and un/underemployed. then we hard working people will get a tax increase, to pay for poor people's health care, and have to pay for the care we have chosen by working hard. go to Canada. see what it is like to wait weeks or months for care that you need today. you get what you pay for, and the gov. will not decide what i pay for!