Alex Stogin, Columnist
In a recent edition of the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), the journal made a bold claim that the proposals made by Democratic presidential nominee Senator Bernie Sanders would cost the nation $18 trillion over the course of the next decade.
This claim has quickly come under fire from the Sanders’ campaign and various current and former government officials. It has, for the most part, been condemned for falsely portraying the Senator’s proposals and attempting to use fear tactics to spur resistance by the American people against his platform.
I support the current push back by the Sanders’ campaign and those officials and experts who understand the mistakes of the WSJ’s claim. As Americans we have the right to speak our minds and have our own opinions, we cherish our right to do just that.
The people in charge of the WSJ have that same right, but to spread misleading and deceitful figures in an attempt to frighten people is wrong.
The WSJ wasn’t just giving an opinion about Sanders’ platforms. They were using their respect as a reliable economic news source to give the American public a false view on Sanders’ actual platform.
The WSJ deliberately attempted to scare the American people into believing that Sanders’ proposals would cost the United States an additional $18 trillion over the next decade to fund his agenda. This could not be farther from the truth as both his campaign and other experts have pointed out.
Sander’s plan doesn’t have this country spending an additional $18 trillion to fund his agenda, instead it has the U.S. Government reallocate how it is currently spending its money. The WSJ put $15 trillion of that alleged $18 trillion going towards “Medicare for all.”
In reality, Sanders wants to move the U.S. to a single payer healthcare system. Single payer systems have been proven to be cheaper in every single example around the world when compared to the current system in the U.S.
According to Robert Reich, former U.S. Secretary of Labor, a switch to a single payer system would save Americans thousands in healthcare expenses by cutting out the bloated costs that private insurance companies charge.
Single payer systems, such as the one in Canada, do have issues with overcrowding and long wait times, but I do not think they are significantly worse than those in the United States. Hospitals are already overcrowded since people without healthcare insurance still go to receive care but can’t pay for it. Our bills are then higher to cover their inability to pay. The single payer system would make our health care cheaper without dramatically affecting our current wait times.
Reich has pointed out that this switch in healthcare systems will actually save the U.S. money that will more than cover Sander’s other plans which include tuition free education at public universities, expanded Social Security benefits, improved infrastructure, a fund to have paid family leave and still leave roughly $2 trillion leftover for deficit reduction.
I wouldn’t even consider these costs, but more as an investment. Without a healthy, educated nation capable of production and innovation we will continue to fall behind the rest of the world intellectually and economically. Sanders looks to make that investment and save the nation money.
All Americans and specifically college students need to take the time to learn more about Sanders and his platform.
By ignoring scare tactics by right wing groups, and now the WSJ, and instead looking at what Sanders’ truly stands for, everyone can see what Sanders’ believes in and why he could make a fantastic 45th President of the United States.