Is it more necessary to allow a billionaire to have more money or to make everyone have a decent health care?

Answer 1

What is necessary is to keep the connection between work, risk-taking, innovation, etc. and reward intact.

Once the government says it will decide what people should and should not have, you tell society that doing LESS, not more, is the way to get ahead. Society collapses, as the most motivated start to go elsewhere. Unless you lock everyone in, as in Cuba.

Answer 2

Depends - a billionaire worked for his billions. Healthcare is a different thing and the government should be the one to assure that it's decent enough for everyone. The billionaire can always put up his own health care for people.

Answer 3

I think that allowing healthcare to at least be affordable for everyone would be fair. Right now, the richer you are, the better your health care is. This is an elitist attitude, and I think it is wrong.

I know of someone that works and is paid hourly, and works full time and makes $10 per hour. In his 2 weeks, he is paid (including his overtime that he has to work to help cover bills) $500. Now, this is for the family health insurance through his company. This health care plan covers 70 % of the bills after they reach their $1,000 deductable.

To put this into perspective, a person that is paid $10 per hour would make $800 in 2 weeks (80 hours), and would make $15 per hour working overtime. Without the overtime, the pay of $800, after taxes, becomes $628.20. And then one must throw in contributions to 401K plans, and taking out the insurance.

Now, when this person worked regular hours and overtime, he would bring home over $800 for his 2 weeks, he is now bring home around $500, and someone thinks that is acceptable???? Health insurance is one of those necessary evils, and the companies know it. They hike up the rates so they can get rich, and pay their execs high salaries and bonuses. How is that fair????

Make it affordable, and equal for everyone. The workers are getting screwed unless they are making over $70,000 per year, and that isn't fair, either. That is nothing but elitist.

Answer 4

I don't think anyone needs billions, and no job is really worth that much. People slave their life away and don't earn a fraction of that, deserving or not. I wouldn't feel comfortable with any government entity taking control of it though, and wealthhy people benefit society a great deal in paying taxes, investing, charitable contributions, hiring workers, funding projects etc. If the government took their money claiming they would use it for healthcare, would we be able to trust them? Would people be discouraged from working hard, and using their creative ingenuity, if they knew the profits wouldn't benefit themselves, their familiies, or the causes they choose to support?

Answer 5

This is simular to another question just asked:

Like I said there, we can not overtax the rich because they are successful. Everybody would love a health care, but I think people would also love a dream of being rich, which would be hard to do when, the second you make a decent amount of money, it's given to different people.

Answer 6

I understand that "this is America" and people who earned their millions and shouldn't be punished for it. But lets be real here - how many wealthy people do you know that seriously worked harder than all poor people to get that money? Most of the people I know who have a lot of money work moderately hard, and were born into wealthy families. When I watch parents spend 70,000 on a car for a spoiled 16 year old brat, I want to throw up. It makes me sick the amount of money people spend on purses, sun glasses, cars, etc. when other people have nothing.

Answer 7

I believe that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Therefore, a strong country is one that has a healthy population. If implemented and managed effectively through a system of taxation and corporate involvement, the US could have a system of healthcare unrivalled in the world. Bringing it back to its previous stature of 'Greatest Nation in the World'. But lack of understanding and general ignorance about such a system - as well as overwhelming examples of poorly run government sponsored programs - leaves Americans with the mistaken impression that a national healthcare system would usher in communism to their country.

It is also very telling of the American mindset when they say things like "We are not going to pay money to freeloaders".

Answer 8

A modern day Robin Hood mentality is not the answer to health care. Fix immigration first, then let's talk healthcare.

Answer 9

What does someone who earned his billions have to do with everyone having health care?

Answer 10

So when you get your billions, you won't mind if the government says they will take anything else you make to pay for the country's health care? That isn't a free AMERICA!