Quote:
Originally Posted by Locke
You have to work the problem without creating new ones. My biggest beef is that the 'new problem' being created is being fabricated out of laziness and the desire to create ancillary benefits to people not on the hook for the faults of the program that they created.
They're spending other people's money to genuinely help some people, benefit a great many more who likely dont need it, but by doing so help themselves disproportionately without putting themselves out by doing it.
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I understand where you are coming from, but if you dig a little deeper into this, past free prescriptions that will cost taxpayers money, there are many indirect economic benefits to consider:
- savings to both employers and individuals on drug coverage premiums
- parents will likely miss less time from work by not needing to stay home to care for their sick children as often, resulting in a reduction in lost productivity and income
- parents will likely miss less time from work not needing to stay a home to recover after getting sick from from the previous point, same results
- young adults dealing with debilitating conditions(depression etc) may be able to rejoin the workforce or further their education instead of sitting at home collecting disability or nothing at all
- teen/young adult suicide rates may go down, which will reduce time lost at work by grieving friends and family, which will also
- financial stress will be reduced on young adults or parents of children with chronic illnesses/high drug expenses(financial stress is a major contributor to the 2 previous points)
- starting with a small group instead of going for universal coverage gives the government the opportunity to slowly raise the age of eligibility if the program proves to have a net financial benefit overall, it is also easier to cancel if it does not
Just a few examples, I'm not saying there are no potential risks, that your opinion is wrong or that these points will guarantee viability. Just thought that looking at it from a different perspective might provide some food for thought.