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How would such a single-payer system protect itself against incumbents and beneficiaries subverting it to further their agenda? We have single-payer k-12 educa
by prostoalex 7y ago
How would such a single-payer system protect itself against incumbents and beneficiaries subverting it to further their agenda?
We have single-payer k-12 education at state level, where the teachers' unions fund election campaigns, and when it's time to negotiate education contracts, those politicians are "surprisingly" very favorable to their funders and former colleagues.
Other government-run single-payer projects - Amtrak, USPS, etc - are not exactly beacons of efficiency either.
- keenmaster 7y agoTeachers are government employees, so they have a more sympathetic case. I don’t think the U.S. would ever employ doctors directly like in the UK. Politicians would rather have more money to spend on other projects than a marginal amount more compensation for doctors that aren’t even on their payroll.
- prostoalex 7y agoDefense contractors or farmers are not direct employees either, yet they all found a way to extract maximum revenue from the system by greasing the right wheels. You can trace it in California politics - the citizens were "in dire need" of high-speed rail back when construction unions poured significant funds into Sacramento, which was then overtaken by water infrastructure buildout (and respective rise of political contributions from farming industry), today it's our youngsters' education that needs critical intervention (and, by extension, underperforming pension plans of educators retired long ago).