3 ms·

Isn't it fairly obvious how the costs could be decreased? Dozens of other countries have figured it out, there isn't some secret.

GiorgioG 4y ago
Well, what we have here is the unique snowflake syndrome or not invented here syndrome. At this point I’ve lost all hope that we’ll see a single payer system in the USA in my lifetime.
rayiner 4y ago
And what’s the secret? Having the government do it can’t be the reason, because there’s plenty of government-run things, such as education and transit, where the US pays more to get less, just as in healthcare.
- Atreiden 4y ago
  The secret is representative government. In the US there are only two parties, and they have entirely opposite goals. The democrats want more Government spending programs, Republicans want less. So when Democrats are in charge and the US tries to expand things like healthcare, education, and transit, the Republicans step in and do everything in their power to create the most ineffectual legislation that they can. Obamacare is the perfect example of this. They then use those broken, ineffective programs as evidence of "the governments" incompetence (ignoring the fact they they _are_ the government), bolstering their arguments for rolling back government regulation and spending. This way, private interests are able to dominate the market and the money keeps flowing 'round. I'm convinced this is the mechanism behind both the increasing income/wealth inequality in the US, and the broken state of public infrastructure/services. The solution is election reform. The data has shown that neither party represents the actual interests of the people, and they only get away with it because of the Game Theory around our election system. Get rid of the Electoral College and FPTP - 1 Person:1 Vote & Ranked-Choice voting would create a cataclysmic shift in US politics in short order.

GiorgioG 4y ago

Well, what we have here is the unique snowflake syndrome or not invented here syndrome. At this point I’ve lost all hope that we’ll see a single payer system in the USA in my lifetime.

rayiner 4y ago

And what’s the secret? Having the government do it can’t be the reason, because there’s plenty of government-run things, such as education and transit, where the US pays more to get less, just as in healthcare.

Atreiden 4y ago
The secret is representative government. In the US there are only two parties, and they have entirely opposite goals. The democrats want more Government spending programs, Republicans want less. So when Democrats are in charge and the US tries to expand things like healthcare, education, and transit, the Republicans step in and do everything in their power to create the most ineffectual legislation that they can. Obamacare is the perfect example of this. They then use those broken, ineffective programs as evidence of "the governments" incompetence (ignoring the fact they they _are_ the government), bolstering their arguments for rolling back government regulation and spending. This way, private interests are able to dominate the market and the money keeps flowing 'round. I'm convinced this is the mechanism behind both the increasing income/wealth inequality in the US, and the broken state of public infrastructure/services. The solution is election reform. The data has shown that neither party represents the actual interests of the people, and they only get away with it because of the Game Theory around our election system. Get rid of the Electoral College and FPTP - 1 Person:1 Vote & Ranked-Choice voting would create a cataclysmic shift in US politics in short order.