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Most Americans believe in a single-payer system. However, even if the Democrats made it a solid goal, the Republicans would essentially convey the message: "Sur
by rm_-rf_slash 10y ago
Most Americans believe in a single-payer system. However, even if the Democrats made it a solid goal, the Republicans would essentially convey the message: "Sure, you can vote for the Democrats if you want, but be prepared for them to take all of your guns, force you to pay welfare for Syrian immigrants, and use your taxes to pay for abortions."
Enough people would consider those things - even if they have an iota of truth - more important than universal health care, so they vote against the politicians who support it.
This assumes republicans do not adopt a single payer system in their party platform. I think that assumption is plausible.
- snowwrestler 10y agoThe argument against government single-payer is to imagine the politicians you dislike the most in charge of your health care. Would Democrats still favor single-payer if they knew that Republicans would get to make all the policy decisions about what is covered?
- Nursie 10y agoYet other countries seem to make it work quite well and keep it a-political. No party decides these things.
- snowwrestler 10y agoSome other countries make it work. Other other countries have health care systems that are way worse than the U.S. So: it's good to know that things are different in other countries, but it doesn't actually address the point I was trying to make. Of course single-payer works if we imagine that things in the U.S. are different from the way they actually are. Lots of things work that way.
- Nursie 10y agoI'm not aware of any countries where that specific aspect, choosing which drugs are available, has become politicised and toxic. I agree that the two-party adversarial politics in the US is poison though, and causes a whole lot of "this is why we can't have nice things" moments.
- otterley 10y ago> Of course single-payer works if we imagine that things in the U.S. are different from the way they actually are That's a fantastic argument for changing the way things are in the U.S. It happens one vote at a time.
- lintiness 10y agomore along the lines of: the government that can't seem to make anything cheap ever and that is mostly lying and full of shit all the time wants control of my WHAT?
- ZeroGravitas 10y agoThis is just a variant on "get your government hands off my Medicare". The healthcare "market" in the USA is deeply, pervasively and often bizarrely regulated by the government. Don't think of it as free market versus government regulated, because that's simply not true.