How Obamacare Bones The Young
And it's not just Obamacare that's doing it. There are all sorts of ways in place to bribe the older voter with younger Americans' money.
Grace-Marie Turner, at Forbes, quotes and references from Disinherited: How Washington is Betraying America's Young, by Diana Furchtgott-Roth and Jared Meyer of the Manhattan Institute:
"Politicians in Washington are taking from the future earnings of young people, many of them not old enough to vote, to pay for services for their parents and grandparents, who do vote," they write. The result is a "future of decreased opportunity" for adults under age 30, many of whom "have given up on finding work and are leaving the labor force."Furchtgott-Roth and Meyer focus on the huge tax burden young people face in financing the nation's burgeoning debt, driven largely by New Deal and Great Society entitlement programs, as well as the cost of the regulatory state, the failure of our educational system, and the mountain of college debt young people face today.
They single out the Affordable Care Act as a new direct hit on young people.
Young adults are harmed in a number of ways by ObamaCare, they explain. They must purchase expensive health insurance covering a long list of "essential health benefits" that few want or need. Failure to comply triggers federal financial penalties.
Buying this expensive insurance puts undue financial burden on those struggling to find a job in this weak economy and, for many, paying off expensive college loans.
But the discrimination against the young doesn't end there. The health care law also requires them to pay more for their health insurance so older people can pay less through a federally-imposed system of insurance pricing rules.
"In 2014, 27-year-old males saw their premiums rise an average of 91 percent because of the law. In contrast, premiums for the average 64-year-old rose only 32 percent," they write.
And for most young people, buying this expensive insurance makes little economic sense. "People under 30 spend on average $600 a year on medical costs," they explain, yet "a typical 27-year-old would have to spend $2,513 [out of pocket on medical costs] before getting any benefits [from insurance]. No rational person would buy such a product."
Here's the opening paragraph of POTUS' 2009 report on rising healthcare costs. (www.whitehouse.gov/assets/documents/Health_Insurance_Premium_Report.pdf)
"Health insurance premiums for American families continue to skyrocket. A report released by the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF)on September 15th,reported that the average annual family premium for employer-sponsored health insurance rose to $13,375 in 2009. This represents an increase of 5.5 percent increase in premiums for families in the past ear when inflation actually fell by 0.7 percent."
5.5% was alarming to them then. Now 91% is justified. I don't know how to describe that so my kid can understand it.
Canvasback at June 24, 2015 1:49 AM
I don't have a flattering way to describe it Canvasback, but I can confirm it. I'm over 30 and my premiums have gone up around that level. I can also conform that insurance doesn't make anything cheaper. I had to pay cash for my first kid (due to o-care and texas law). The second one was under o-care insurance and even with the insurance covering most of the bills looks to cost me around double out of pocket.
Ben at June 24, 2015 5:27 AM
Shorter version: deficit spending is taxation without representation.
Specifically, on those too young to vote, and those who haven't even been born.
I R A Darth Aggie at June 24, 2015 6:37 AM
Yeah, but Ben, your kids will be on your insurance until they're 26, so there is that.
I R A Darth Aggie at June 24, 2015 6:38 AM
In other words, it is working as intended, as designed and as its supporters want it to work. Free sh*t for lots of people to encourage them to vote for us, paid for by relatively-few people who are unlikely to vote for us. I surely hope that nobody at all is in the slightest bit surprised by this outcome - not only is it self-evident to anyone who can do even basic math, but it was clearly and repeatedly described by supporters of the law from day 1.
llater,
llamas
llamas at June 24, 2015 9:49 AM
Not my kids IRA. I (like my father, and his before him, and his ...) will be too annoying for any of my kids to want to stay home one moment longer than necessary. And getting your own job/insurance/car/ yada yada is all part of that deal.
I love my father, but I'm damned if I'll live with him.
Ben at June 24, 2015 10:12 AM
I don't know how to describe that so my kid can understand it.
Politicians lie. People in power only care about remaining in power, not about you. The "government" is not an ideal, it is an organization made up of people with much power and almost no accountability to be punished for screwing up.
lujlp at June 24, 2015 1:09 PM
The news reported this morning that "6.1 million people will get to keep their health insurance" with the latest SCOTUS ruling.
As long as the media is selling ObamaCare as a vital program for the poor and indigent, you will never be able to explain to your children why it's a bad thing.
Conan the Grammarian at June 25, 2015 11:54 AM
"The news reported this morning that '6.1 million people will get to keep their health insurance' with the latest SCOTUS ruling."
Which of course is not true -- the ruling had nothing to do with who is eligible. The ruling had to do with subsidies, and the SCOTUS basically gave the executive branch a blank check of power to rewrite the law however it wishes. The legislative and judicial branches of the federal government are rapidly making themselves irrelevant.
Cousin Dave at June 26, 2015 7:10 AM
That's what bugged me the most about Harry Reid, he gave away the Senate's power and prerogative. And he'll be the first to howl when a Republican president takes advantage of the freedom of maneuver that he helped the Executive branch get.
Conan the Grammarian at June 26, 2015 1:55 PM
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