Remix.run Logo
garbawarb a day ago

That would be a massive hit to our GDP.

bensyverson a day ago | parent | next [-]

Just think about the boost to our GDP by having healthier consumers who live longer, don't go into medical bankruptcy, and continue to buy stuff.

karakoram a day ago | parent | prev | next [-]

In all seriousness, this would be a massive stimulus to the economy. Americans are consumers at heart. All the money saved on insurance and/or other healthcare related costs would then be spent elsewhere.

Cars, clothes, TVs, Labubu dolls. People will use the savings to buy things. In massive quantities.

arkh a day ago | parent | next [-]

There is also some indirect bonus: if people's healthcare is not tied to their employer then it's easier to look for a new one. Also if the system is done well, then many companies would lose the incentives they currently have for not giving full-time employment.

garbawarb a day ago | parent | prev [-]

Some would, but some would just put that money into savings and investments instead.

DerArzt a day ago | parent [-]

From a retirement standpoint I keep hearing that not enough Americans are saving for retirement, so this would still be a win for me.

triceratops a day ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Not necessarily, over the long-term. That's $1 trillion more in disposable income.

ovi256 a day ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Not at all. Reducing a cost means the payer can spend the money on something else

oa335 a day ago | parent | prev | next [-]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parable_of_the_broken_window

dgellow a day ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Are you implying you would decide to sacrifice citizens health for a few GDP points, a somewhat useful but oversimplified metric that doesn’t reflect anything tangible?

brainwad a day ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Presumably not; the same national income would just be redistributed from shareholders to insurees (or shareholders of companies that pay for employee health insurance).

nemomarx a day ago | parent | prev [-]

Think of all the insurance jobs that would be hit, too. Unfortunately we've bloated the healthcare industry to have a lot of employees

panzagl a day ago | parent [-]

Somehow I doubt there would be fewer jobs in healthcare if the government takes it over.