M
Moozhe
When thinking of the health care and unemployment issues and the current state of the US economy, a particular connection seemed to stand out.
Right now, health care is extremely expensive. And the goal of subsidizing universal health care with taxpayer money is extremely daunting. Part of the problem is that even if it were affordable and could fit in the budget without skyrocketing taxes, it would raise problems like hospital overcrowding, unrealistic donor list wait times, wait times to see specialists, etc.
On the other side of the spectrum right now, there is a shortage of jobs. Technology is finding ways to cut out the middle men. I read today that companies are going to start offering theatrical movie releases for home viewing (for a premium price) to completely cut out the movie theatres. Sure, a lot of people don't want to pay their ridiculous prices on fountain soda and popcorn, but that's an entire sector of jobs at risk.
Obviously theatres will still exist, but that was just an example of one of the many things that cause unemployment to rise. Outsourcing and things like imported cars are other examples. So it makes you wonder, where are we going to see job growth? Our population is increasing every day while jobs are being replaced by robots and computers. And there's nothing wrong with that. Why should we do a job if a computer can just as well? The problem is we can't just go sit on the beach while the computer does it for us, the few men who own the business do, the rest of us end up unemployed. And that's the problem with capitalism as technology progresses.
With all that said, the point of this post is--why don't we focus job growth on the health care sector?
I think part of the reason it is expensive is because it is so heavily privatized. There is a whole working class of people, millions, who cannot realistically expect to afford going to medical school or a related field. The tuition costs and the time invested is just out of reach to most people, which is why MOST doctors are rich upper/middle class brats whose parents paid their tuition. Sure, that's a stereotype, and I'm sure many of them are hardworking middle class people struggling to accomplish their goals. But compared to other fields, the stereotype is well-earned.
Health care education programs--shouldn't this be something the government focuses on to stimulate the economy? You nail two birds with one stone. You increase the size of the health care work force, which would lower the cost of providing universal health care and improve the quality of it. You invest in our young people's education, and they pay the loan back down the road. And then they're in an income bracket where they're paying a lot more taxes and the stimulation pays off. And universal health care becomes a much more realistic goal.
In addition to subsidizing medical education, there should be more government funding in the health care sector to lower the costs of equipment and technology. To build more hospitals. To create more jobs for security, nurses, janitors, accountants, everything that goes with it. If you think about it, if the government is paying for millions of people's health care expenses, wouldn't it become cost effective in the long run to invest in any technology that can lower the costs?
Right now, health care is extremely expensive. And the goal of subsidizing universal health care with taxpayer money is extremely daunting. Part of the problem is that even if it were affordable and could fit in the budget without skyrocketing taxes, it would raise problems like hospital overcrowding, unrealistic donor list wait times, wait times to see specialists, etc.
On the other side of the spectrum right now, there is a shortage of jobs. Technology is finding ways to cut out the middle men. I read today that companies are going to start offering theatrical movie releases for home viewing (for a premium price) to completely cut out the movie theatres. Sure, a lot of people don't want to pay their ridiculous prices on fountain soda and popcorn, but that's an entire sector of jobs at risk.
Obviously theatres will still exist, but that was just an example of one of the many things that cause unemployment to rise. Outsourcing and things like imported cars are other examples. So it makes you wonder, where are we going to see job growth? Our population is increasing every day while jobs are being replaced by robots and computers. And there's nothing wrong with that. Why should we do a job if a computer can just as well? The problem is we can't just go sit on the beach while the computer does it for us, the few men who own the business do, the rest of us end up unemployed. And that's the problem with capitalism as technology progresses.
With all that said, the point of this post is--why don't we focus job growth on the health care sector?
I think part of the reason it is expensive is because it is so heavily privatized. There is a whole working class of people, millions, who cannot realistically expect to afford going to medical school or a related field. The tuition costs and the time invested is just out of reach to most people, which is why MOST doctors are rich upper/middle class brats whose parents paid their tuition. Sure, that's a stereotype, and I'm sure many of them are hardworking middle class people struggling to accomplish their goals. But compared to other fields, the stereotype is well-earned.
Health care education programs--shouldn't this be something the government focuses on to stimulate the economy? You nail two birds with one stone. You increase the size of the health care work force, which would lower the cost of providing universal health care and improve the quality of it. You invest in our young people's education, and they pay the loan back down the road. And then they're in an income bracket where they're paying a lot more taxes and the stimulation pays off. And universal health care becomes a much more realistic goal.
In addition to subsidizing medical education, there should be more government funding in the health care sector to lower the costs of equipment and technology. To build more hospitals. To create more jobs for security, nurses, janitors, accountants, everything that goes with it. If you think about it, if the government is paying for millions of people's health care expenses, wouldn't it become cost effective in the long run to invest in any technology that can lower the costs?
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