Interesting
MIT Alumni webcast about politics, taxes, and healthcare with Professor Andrea Louise Campbell. Unfortunately, you need to sign in, so here are some interesting points from the webcast:
- Compared to other countries, US citizens' taxes are low - 3rd from the bottom.
- Example of country that has higher tax and not fiscally in turmoil:
- Germany: Has 1/3 higher tax than US, and invests in education/training and infrastructure. If there is too little taxation, there is a lack of investment in the people and structure.
- So most countries have universal healthcare, why is it so difficult for US citizens to accept universal healthcare?
- During WWII, there were a lack of workers and a cap on wages, so to attract workers, employers started giving benefits, the most popular of which was health insurance from private insurers. That continued after the war, and the government also passed a law for no tax on income spent by employer for health insurance, which further solidified the system. Now, for the people who do have insurance, they like what they have, and don't want something new/change. They are afraid that they're choices will be limited under a universal healthcare system.
- Benefits of single pay system of universal healthcare (like Canada): administrative cost much lower.
- 2/3 of population represented by Medicaid ("poor ppl program") are poor and children, 2/3 of spending are on disabled seniors - so the majority of spending from Medicaid is actually spent on disabled seniors.
- Effect of election on Medicare ("old ppl program")/Medicaid:
- Obama: relatively same amount of spending on Medicare/Medicaid (as needed federal spending - no maximum/cap on amount of money spent in those programs).
- Romney: capped federal spending on Medicare. Voucher will be given to elderly to buy premium for private insurance. Also capped federal spending given to States for Medicaid (currently Medicaid is a combo contribution of State and Federal).
- Effect of election on taxes:
- Obama: increase 4% on top 2 brackets (wealthiest) of tax payers.
- Romney ("Ryan Budget"): decrease total taxes from 20% of GDP to 16% of GDP - never been so low since before WWII, before interstate highway system, Medicare/Medicaid. To do this, most notably, there will be changes in Medicare/Medicaid as noted above.
- We used to have 25 tax brackets, now 5. Now with low caps on fewer brackets, it means we're not penetrating the top brackets (of wealthy people).
- Most americans, when asked whether they want a central government with less power, if the government is wasting their tax money, etc, they say "YES!". But when you ask the same people whether they would like to spend more money on public education, the poor, healthcare for the elderly, they also say, "YES!" - "So US public is a little bipolar?" ..."Yes..."
