Elizabeth Warren has exhibited a refreshing honesty and willingness to answer questions. It might be because she is prepared for almost anything. She has an almost preternatural understanding of policy and federal budgeting.
Plus, she is passionate and fearless in her defense of the working class. Another trait that is almost extinct, or at least dormant, in most career politicians. A feature that is absolutely nonexistent in rookie politicians who have been elected president. She is a refreshing, wholesome, invigorating change in the political fabric of presidential politics.
Recently her democratic rivals for in the coming primaries thought they might have found a weakness in her intellectual, policy wonk armor. They attacked her “Medicare for All” funding. How was she going to pay for that? Was she going to have to raise taxes on the middle class? Where was the money going to come from? It is a natural byproduct of her increasing popularity. Politics is the ultimate zero-sum game. One candidate’s gain is another candidate’s loss.
She released her plan. It answered the questions, and life on the trail went back to a more reasonable level of combativeness. But, it is worrisome and shows a definite movement toward the past by several democrats. Moreover, it shows a willingness to exploit the same fears that Trump harnessed.
My wife works for a school district in a wealthy suburb so we have better health insurance than most people can afford. It still costs us a lot of money in premiums, deductibles, and prescriptions and with every negotiation it gets more expensive. The costs are becoming a burden. This weight is lessened considerably because our doctor(s) doesn’t/don’t believe in prescribing pain killers or antibiotics except in the most extreme circumstances. But, if one of us gets sick, really sick, it could be crushing. It is hard to accept that as part of the American Dream.
A single-payer plan whether you call it Medicare for All, ObamaCare, or Just An Idea Whose Time Has Come could raise our taxes a little and still save us money. Though, Warren[1] claims it wouldn’t raise our taxes. She probably knows from whence she speaks, she always does.
In the coming months, we are going to hear a lot of arguments about the best way to move the country forward. There are going to be countless articles, columns and televised editorials about why a good idea will never work, about the costs associated with implementing policies that make sense. But, somebody is always stuck paying the cost. For a long time, it has been the people who least equipped to afford it. Spreading it out a little might be a good idea.
Change doesn’t sound so bad.
[1] President Warren?
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This is an oped piece and represents the opinion of the author. It does not constitute and endorsement by GMP.
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