US uninsurance rate drops to 13.4%, record low

[AggregateDemand]

The question remains: Why are young people disproportionately uninsured compared to other age groups? If consumers aren't buying a product, it usually isn't the fault of consumers, but rather of the providers of that product for failing to provide sufficient value to consumers. Most health insurance policies don't have much value for healthy young people because the high premiums are not worth the few treatments they're likely to need. There are tons of regulatory mandates on health insurers requiring them to cover all sorts of treatments that healthy young people will never need, which pushes up premiums and prevents insurers from offering policies that appeal to that age demographic. If you really want to get premiums down and help young people get insured, you need to go after the regulatory mandates.

Because they are unemployed, and our system tethers people to their employer.

[AggregateDemand]

I have insurance because of it and I am immensely grateful.

Begging for crumbs off of the master's table? Even the True Left know better than to do that.

In general, the US understands that our healthcare system is broken. ACA proposes to make the broken system cover more Americans. If voters don't see what's going on, they shouldn't be voting.

Refer to Mechaman's post.

[AggregateDemand]

Mechman's post essentially championed the exact opposite of every rationale ou've ever 'argued' on this forum.

You really don't have a clue what you're saying, do you? It's the debate equivilent of watching a dog chase it's tail.

I'm one of the young people Mechaman's post. I'm tired of being ripped off by a system that panders to old married people, who've borrowed the US into bigger problems than it faced during stagflation. I'm lucky not to be amongst the ranks of the under-employed, but I'm not amused by the ineptitude of our government that provides nothing and charges a great deal per capita.

The difference between Mechaman and me is (judging by the avatar) that Mechaman blames private industry, while I understand that the government is simply raking one demographic over the coals to satisfy another demographic of people.

Young people have been taxed out of the workplace, and then graciously given permission to commit financial suicide by borrowing.

[AggregateDemand]

But you'll be old at a point.

When I get old, I'll be comfortable with the global economic rancor caused by the sloth of US legislators?

[AggregateDemand]

No, you'll get more money from insurance companies than you'll give to them.

The United States is not plagued by people who receive more than they put in on an annual basis. The US is plagued by generations of people who've barely paid a fraction of their time-value adjusted benefits. Furthermore, the US uses a method of pension-management that has been expressed banned in the private sector for being unstable and inequitable.

The US government raises taxes on the youngs, while finding new ways to expand spendthrift in Social Security and Medicare. The average citizen doesn't really understand the vastness of human rights violations, but most international agencies have been sounding the alarm bells for about a decade.

If our entitlements and debt-crises wipe out the youngs, we can kiss the global economy goodbye.

[AggregateDemand]

The U.S. government hasn't "raised taxes on the young." I've seen plenty of state tax increases, but none from the feds. In fact, my tax burden is lower now than when I first started working during the Clinton era.

No serious politician advocates for increasing the tax rates on the lowest income brackets.

We're talking about effective tax rates over a citizen's lifetime, not marginal bracket rates. FICA tax threshold was once 100% of median household income. Now, FICA tax threshold is over 200% of median household income, and the rates are higher, and there are no more special allowances for self-employed individuals.

Income tax has not been eased enough or eased in an equitable manner to offset the increases in FICA tax. As FICA tax receipts increase, they crowd out income tax revenues, which puts pressure on important federal programs.

[AggregateDemand]

You truly believe that the private sector has less influence over health care economics than the government? Really?

Half of all healthcare spending is Medicare and Medicaid. The "private" healthcare industry is tax-subsidized, and directed by state and federal regulators to offer certain products and services.

No one has private market-based healthcare except people like Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh, who pay for concierge health services out of pocket. It's a micro-market with virtually no affect on the healthcare industry.