Another Difficulty with Implementing Single Payer Health Insurance in the USA

Another Difficulty with Implementing Single Payer Health Insurance in the USA is that if economists like Milton Friedman are correct the states are causing much of the high cost. Worse with the federal Government already paying for 50% of health care, state and local politicians have an incentive to push up medical costs in their states. This will only get worse if all medical spending is done through the Federal Government.

Is It Too Late to Implement Single Payer Health Insurance in the USA

It seems to me that it is probably too late to implement single payer health insurance in the USA.

• Because health care spending is now up to about 18% of GDP and...
• Because the industry has gotten so big there are a lot of people working in the industry, to some extent they will fight single payer.
• Because the industry has gotten so big the taxes to cover it  would have to big, and contrary to what Bernie says taxes are different from health insurance premiums. That is because if you quit paying your health insurance premiums you do not get the benefit but, if you work less or for less money and so no longer pay the taxes to cover your medical bills you are still covered in single payer (and people do that especially wives) and that expense is shifted to other tax payers.
• You cannot shift consumption from the very rich to consumers of health care because the rich do not consume enough.
• Of course you could cover everyone with what gov. spends today by cutting low benefit care but the AARP will have your head.

So IMHO it is too late!

Immigration

I would like the USA to return to the free immigration policies of the past (like when my grandparents immigrated). Then incoming immigrants where checked for communicable diseases and if clean they were granted entry.

BUT seeing that:

• There is a large percent of voters who are anti-immigration and a larger percent who are against illegal immigration. 
• It seems absurd to have a law that you have no intention of enforcing.
• The illegal immigrants who have been here the longest are better off than those who would have wanted to come but did not come because they did not want to come illegally.
• The illegal immigrants who have been here the longest are better off because they have had a chance to earn more money than those in Mexico.
• The illegal immigrants who have been here the longest are better off because they have had a chance to learn some English which might help them get a better job in Mexico.

So suppose we deport illegal immigrants starting with those who have been here the longest and for each one deported we let in a person from the queue. Or maybe we let in two people from the queue for each illegal deported.

This seems to be a reasonable compromise between pro and anti immigration voters.

Also, perhaps we should start a guest worker program.