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wills023
Over the course of the current recession that we are currently in, the government continues to push out large amounts of money. With the national debt over $12.5 trillion,(can you cite please?) the continued spending of millions and millions of dollars is not pushing it down. But how exactly does the government keep coming up with this money, and at what cost to the citizens of the country? Why does the government continue to spend obscene amounts of money without having it? No matter what the government spends money on, or doesn’t spend money on for that matter, half the population of the United States is going to complain about it.
I wrote my last post about the health care reform bill because I wanted to talk about the amount of money that the government is spending and how it’s going to affect the generations down the road. The health care reform bill is expected to cost $940 billion over the 10 years after it is initiated, but the major coverage is not expected to occur until 2014. What this bill intends to do is insure and extra 12 percent of Americans that currently are not insured today: 83 percent of Americans are currently insured (source?). The government is spending this $940 billion to insure and extra 32 million Americans that either can’t afford health care or are not covered by it in their jobs. This is going to cost the working class of the United States a lot more money in taxes . Those people that are uninsured either do not have a job or are paid very little so that they can not afford to pay for health care on their own. The majority of people that are going to pay for the health care bill are those that make a lot of money and, most likely, are either insured through the company they work for or pay for it out of their own pocket. If the people of the United States who are uninsured want to be insured, then they should be the ones held accountable for the almost $1 trillion that it is going to cost.
Stemming from the first Bush administration, the amount of money added to the national debt has increased dramatically, especially due to defense spending. Starting with the Gulf War in the 1990’s to the War on Terror today, the U.S. Department of Defense has increased it’s spending drastically. Wars are not exactly a drop in the bucket in terms of cost for the government. The Gulf War and the War on Terror have significantly increased the amount of money the government owes to outside lenders. While some may see this war as necessary, there are others who think it is time for the U.S. to start minding it’s own business.
Money does not grow on trees, as much as everyone would like it to. Our government continues to spend money and increase the taxes on the working class. There are those people that are for it, and obviously those that are against it. Whether it be right or wrong, it is being done. Should the government continue to raise taxes of the working class to the point where we become more socialist than capitalist? Should the government continue to borrow money from other countries and building up the tabs owed? Is more spending than needed in the future for the U.S.? At some point, the debt needs to start going in the other direction, but who knows when that might be.
Filed under: What is Going On? | Tagged: defense spending, government spending, gulf war, health care bill, war on terror |
BlOrg Theory 
I believe that health care is extremely important for every country, especially a developed country as the United States. There are a lot of people who can not afford health care and I think everyone should be able to have it. People need to start thinking in bringing the society together, instead of only looking out for themselves. In Europe taxes are extremely high. however citizens are thinking ahead, how their taxes are going to benefit the country in the future. I know it might be unfair for some people that have to pay extra taxes. But if you think about how your money is helping people who can’t even afford medicines for treatment or something else, maybe they can change their view and start accepting that they are helping others that do not have the money to pay for it.
Obviously we are in a bad situation in terms of how much outstanding debt we have with other countries around the world. I know that we are running up a big tab with China but it would be interesting to see what other countries are supporting our financial endeavors. Do you know of any recent statistics that would show the breakdown between countries?
I also believe that health care is an important factor in our country. However, at what cost to the actual taxpayers? Some of those people that are going to get free health care now may not even be working or producing any sort of income, causing the working class to pay for their health care. I think that in order for someone to receive the health care benefits, they should be employed or in the process of trying to find a job. Then the health care bill should cover that person and his/her family. It doesn’t seem fair for someone to sit back and not be working, yet still receive the benefits of the taxpayers money. And I found two other sites that list money that the U.S. owes and to whom.
http://www.ustreas.gov/tic/mfh.txt
http://www.davemanuel.com/2009/09/18/who-does-the-united-states-owe-nearly-12-trillion-dollars-to/
I find it hard to evaluate some of the important questions you raise without some sourcing. Where did you get the numbers from?
Also, deficit spending has been the norm for a long time. It was only at the end of Clinton’s term that we had a surplus. It is an interesting question of fiscal policy how we can run constant deficits. You did not really answer your own question as to how that is possible. It would be informative to have that answer.
How does this lead to your final paper?
To those who are enamored with the free makert approach to health care access I say why not go all the way then? Let me posit the following scenario: The year is 2010, in response to not very widespread complaints that some people in America might actually be getting something for nothing, Congress springs into action. At the end of a grueling session, and in a remarkable display of bipartisanship, they emerge with the Healthcare Ultimate Responsibility Law (HURL). The legislation rescinds the long existing federal mandate that hospitals provide free care to those in need, and dismantles Medicare. It also abolishes all private health insurance, as some policy holders have been consuming a disproportionate amount of medical care in excess of what their premiums would have covered. Prior to leaving for his weekly salon session / hunting trip, President Britt Momley signs the bill into law, pronouncing it “…the final solution to the free rider problem…” Vice President Johann Moneygrubber and Secretary of Wealth and Inhumane Disservices Don Clydesdale look on in awe. Finally, free makert forces will determine the delivery of health services. Anyone wishing to see a doctor will be required to have cash on the barrelhead. Everyone’s net worth can be immediately ascertained by reading the RFID chip embedded at the base of their necks. Fools desperate enough to show up on the steps of medical institutions seeking care with no means to pay are strapped to gurneys in five point restraints and promptly, but cheaply, euthanized. Since these freeloaders would obviously have no means to pay for burial services, their useful tissues and organs are harvested to provide spare parts for the paying customers and luminaries like Paris Hilton and former Vice President Dick Cheney. The remainder of the body is burned on the premises to provide heat for the hot tubs on the liposuction unit. Many panicked Americans seeking treatment flee to the Canadian and Mexican borders only to be turned back by immigration authorities. They die in droves, providing the few remaining U.S. medical schools with a steady stream of anatomical specimens. There is not much need for doctors, with such a limited patient pool, the U.S. actually becomes the world’s largest exporter of trained physicians, and the nursing shortage that loomed so large in the early part of the decade has been resolved overnight. Surplus cadavers are collected by companies BFI and Waste Management, Inc, who in true entrepreneurial spirit have expanded their recycling operations to include corpses. No sense in burying the wretches, that’s just a waste of prime real estate! Instead, bodies are trucked off to mass incinerators where they provide the fuel to run industry. At last, a cheap source of renewable energy. Yes, it’s a new day in America, and no one is on the public dole!