As an American taxpayer, I am already paying for health insurance for 80 million Americans covered by government funded health insurance, approximately half of which (40 million) are non-elderly poor people.
Curiously, the number of Americans at or below the poverty level is less than 40 million, so I'm funding health insurance for people who have income above the poverty level.
Now, I've told you that I am a lawyer, and that I handle a lot of bankruptcies, but what you may not know is that I do a lot of pro bono bankruptcies for Legal Aid. And every one (100%) of the people I've helped get their debts discharged in bankruptcy had cable TV and a cell phone and jewelry (not terribly expensive, but maybe 14 carat or 10 carat gold.)
Poor people in America can afford cable TV, cell phones, and gold jewelry but they can't afford health insurance? Pleeze. (Some also indulge in crack cocaine and on-line gambling, but that's not universally true.)
Interestingly, about 9 million children who are eligible for S-CHIP haven't been enrolled, apparently because their parents don't realize it's there for them.
As for HSAs, the money put into an HSA will be spent anyway, you can spend it after taxes, or you can spend it tax free, your call, but it's stupid to spend it after taxes.
The advantage of universal health care is not that it helps poor people, but that it helps stupid people, reckless people, and those who can't plan ahead. |
