As we head into Medicare-for-All Season, I would just like to set the stage by reiterating my belief that the Overton Window, as commonly used in activist discourse, is a hot, steaming pile of garbage.
-
-
Which brings me to Medicare for All, and the three big, stinking stumbling blocks to selling anything universal to the public: 1) Higher taxes 2) Losing the insurance you already have, which people are (mostly) satisfied with 3) Lower pay for health care workers.
Show this thread -
These things are very ... Very .... Very ... Very ... Very ... Very ... Unpopular.
Show this thread -
Telling people you want to do something very unpopular does not make them want to elect you to do something they maybe wouldn't hate so much. It makes them think you're a dangerous person who shouldn't be allowed near power, and all your other ideas are probably bad, too.
Show this thread -
You ca't frame this problem away, because they are not confused. M4A will cost a bunch of money. It will involve taking away a health care plan they know and are comfortable with for one they know nothing about, and might not work as promised (see, Obamacare, page 423).
Show this thread -
Nor are doctors and nurses and all the other health care workers, millions upon millions of them, somehow mistaken when they think that "paying Medicare rates" means "paying me much less money" and "me trying to explain to the bank why I'm late on the car loan again".
Show this thread -
Like Social Security privatization, taking away employer sponsored insurance is probably just a lost cause that no amount of arguing is going to change minds on. Because this isn't about words. It's about the underlying reality.
Show this thread -
You can probably pass something called "Medicare for All", but not a universal program that does away with ESI--and unless you do away with ESI, and its massive tax subsidy, you probably can't pay for anything else very big, because again, taxes.
Show this thread -
Every universal program elsewhere was established when HC spending was under 10% of GDP, often under 5%. We're at nearly 2-4x that. That's reality. You too, are constrained by reality, not the bally Overton Window. Thanks for listening. I'll see myself out.
Show this thread
End of conversation
New conversation -
-
-
The "Overton Window" annoys me because the whole concept of a "policy window" is useful, has a long history, and is now contaminated by it.
Thanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. UndoUndo
-
-
-
Hard disagree. The difference is that all these libertarian ideas were NOT popular to begin with, so you really cannot shift the Overton window by proposing even more unpopular ideas. However, M4A is very popular (yes, numbers shift when other factors are explained).
Thanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. UndoUndo
-
Loading seems to be taking a while.
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.