For some unfathomable reason, the Democrats are still letting Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez speak in public. She’s like a non-stop political blooper reel. It’s fun to watch, but they can’t possibly think that it’s building their credibility.
The fact that they believe enough Americans are taken in by Cortez to keep her in the spotlight is actually bone chilling. The policy she supports is so extreme and indefensible that it really highlights how far the left will go just to be “anti-Trump.” Well, that needs to stop.
Today, we’re going to endure a little math in order to truly scrutinize the policy of Ocasio-Cortez and see what it would really mean for our country.
Single Payer Health Care Saves Money. This is her most common talking point and most frequent lie. It’s time to put it to bed once and for all. She often cites a study that she claims proves single-payer is cheaper than our current system. It’s the one she alleges was funded by the Koch Brothers and must therefore be a conservative source.
Having actually read the study, it says things very different from what Ms. Cortez thinks it does. The study suggests that the absolute least amount of money Medicare for all could cost is $33 trillion over 10 years. Part of Bernie’s plan (which is what the study analyzed and she champions) is to slash all health provider wages by 40 percent after 10 years. Once done, that would cut the 10-year cost of the plan to $30 trillion. It doesn’t account for any inflation, and it’s an absolute minimum estimate.
I don’t need to explain to you why that plan is stupid. Instead, I’ll hit you with the numbers. Currently, the U.S. pays $11 trillion every 10 years for health care. That includes all military care, all government funded research, Medicare, Medicaid and anything else that is under the federal budget.
Cortez is actually trying to tell you that 33 is less than 11. No, that’s too generous. She’s trying to tell you that 33 trillion is less than 11 trillion. She’s wrong by $22 trillion and 200 percent.
It’s time to be fair. She could try to claim that Medicare for all will cost less than the combined private and public spending on health care. She’d still be wrong. The combined 10-year spending number is $33 trillion. Does that number sound familiar? The reason is because the study showed definitively that the lowest possible price tag for single-payer health care is the same as what we already spend. It’s extremely likely that single-payer would raise the cost of everything substantially, but it certainly wouldn’t cost any less. The very study she cites says these things.
The Rest of the Tab
Here’s the craziest part. She is pushing for way more than just single-payer health care. She wants a $15 minimum wage (an argument for another day), universal housing, free college tuition for all and universal basic income. Studies have been done on these things. Universal housing is literally impossible. Instead, the government could purchase a bunch of housing, but they couldn’t dream of doing it for the entire population.
The same is true of universal basic income. If the entire GDP were spent on that wealth-redistribution plan, everyone would have around $50,000. That leaves no budget for health care, schools, a military, police, roads or anything else currently under the purview of the U.S. government. That’s also the entire GDP. It means that every person and business would be taxed at 100 percent. It’s probably the socialist America that she wants, but it’s mathematically impossible to support.
Getting back on track, the studies pretty much throw out universal housing and basic income. Instead, they focus on an increase in housing subsidies and free college. Those programs could cost anywhere from $10 to $20 trillion every 10 years. That means the most conservative estimate of Cortez’s plans would increase the federal budget by more than double. It would bring federal spending to $100 trillion every 10 years which is 55 percent of the GDP.
Here’s where this really counts. Every single economic study ever done on the subject shows that economic growth either completely stagnates or begins to shrink when federal spending exceeds 50 percent of the GDP. It is happening right now in every single EU country except one: Ireland (which has about a 30-percent spending margin).
The reverse was seen in China. When federal spending finally fell below that threshold in the 90s, their economy exploded. It has been proven beyond doubt in countless examples, and Cortez, having a degree in economics, should know these basics.
The Final Lie
Despite the fact that her proposals are inherently insolvent, she still pushes them. The final lie of her campaign is the promise that all of these free benefits can be showered upon the poor of our country by taxing the rich. Let’s take the immorality of that claim out of the argument for a moment. The math can’t lie, and it completely disagrees with her.
The tax plan she has proposed so far would raise $2 trillion in 10 years. That’s a bit shy of the $100 trillion she wants to spend. In fact, no tax plan that can exist in reality could pay her tab. You see, the GDP is an acronym. The first word in that acronym is “gross.” It’s not the net product; the actual income of America is much less. The most recent year with complete data showed that the total income of all Americans was $9.7 trillion. That’s not just the rich. That’s the total for every single person living in the country (including illegals).
If we taxed the entire population at 100 percent of their income, we still could not pay for Cortez’s proposals. And, that would leave literally 0 dollars in anyone’s pocket for “luxuries” like food, water, electricity and clothing. There is no nice way to put this: she proposes death.
You just endured a math-heavy discussion. Despite the column of numbers, you can plainly see that this is all basic addition. None of it is hard. Now, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is either too stupid to do such basic addition, or she knows the math and doesn’t care.
Whether she would bring death to America through ignorance or malice doesn’t really matter. Neither of these cases are acceptable for a member of our national Congress.
Share these facts far and wide. Don’t let another person take her words at face value. If her falsehoods aren’t confronted, it will mean literal death for every man, woman and child who stays in this country. That’s not hyperbole; it’s the cost of ignoring glaring truths.
