Medicare-for-All is the highest form of socialism. Its premise is based around the idea that there’s enough money in the coffers of middle-class and above to make healthcare free for everyone else. The costs associated with such a plan are nearly equal to the current United States federal government revenue, which is why even leftists in the media are forced to ask how its proponents plan to pay for it.
Soon-to-be Congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has been asked this question many times and her responses have ranged from comical to dangerously ignorant. Now, it seems that she’s found her groove. Her new tactic is to act confused by the question since the answer should be so obvious to everyone.
Ocasio-Cortez calls question about how to pay for Medicare for all ‘puzzling’
“People often say, like, how are you going to pay for it and I find the question so puzzling because ‘How do you pay for something that’s more affordable? How do you pay for cheaper rent?’ You just pay for it,” she said. “We’re paying more now.”
According to recent studies, the program, first introduced by Sanders over the summer, would increase government health spending by $32.6 trillion over 10 years.
If you’re thinking this response must have come from some hidden camera footage by Project Veritas, you’ll be surprised to learn Ocasio-Cortez released it. Yes, she’s actually proud of her answer.
Want to learn more about our fight for Medicare for All, student loan cancellation, embracing our immigrant communities & more?
Check out our stoop interview w/ Jorge Ramos on @ThisIsAmerica: https://t.co/BjZvWBFODb pic.twitter.com/ORV0DTxxWh
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) November 2, 2018
After thinking about it, I realized this really is the best answer she can give. She’s using doublespeak, drastic oversimplification, and improved confidence to say thing that are clearly untenable. But that’s okay because she says it with a smile and seems sincerely confused that anyone would be so naive as to question the numbers.
The problem is a large percentage of Americans won’t question the numbers at all because they won’t understand them. That’s the problem with socialism at this scale. The numbers are so unfathomable that most have a hard time realizing the scope of what’s being proposed.
Let’s break it down in simpler terms. In 2017, the United States brought in $3.32 trillion in federal revenue. It’s projected to go up a little every year. For simple numbers, let’s assume around $35 trillion in total federal revenue over the next decade (which still, for some reason, puts us at a major budget deficit). Compare that to the $32 trillion price tag projected for Medicare-for-All and (hopefully) it becomes easier to see how this plan is completely ludicrous.
Her pitch is essentially, “Don’t worry about it. Rich people and the infinite coffers of the government will pay for it.” Somehow graduating cum laude from BU with a degree in economics and international relations didn’t translate in the real world.
