Policy Expert Paul Dayton talks the (Un)Affordable Care Act

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
So right now you have the government is still shut down,
and it seems to me that the center of a
lot of this is what's happening with healthcare benefits, beneficiaries
and I guess you know, the subsidies that are being
supplied to illegals. Democrats want that to continue, Republicans saying, no,
that's not happening. So everybody's digging their heels in. Paul

(00:21):
Dayton joins us now, who's an author and also a
policy expert. Paul, welcome in, Thanks for being here.

Speaker 2 (00:26):
Thanks Jati, it's a pleasure to be with you.

Speaker 1 (00:27):
All right, without getting too weedy, let's pretend we're just
talking to a seventh grade class for my benefit, all right,
so I understand everything that's going on with this thing here.
We've got the situation with the government, and it seems
everybody's talking about what's happening with the benefits for who
gets benefits in this country, and what the healthcare plan
is all about when it comes to affordable care acting,

(00:48):
which is kind of a weird name for it because
it's not always affordable. So is this, in your mind,
the number one issue that is being discussed between Democrats
and Republicans.

Speaker 2 (01:00):
Oh, well, you're right on it's definitely more properly named
the Unaffordable Care Act. But they it's clearly the main
issue of the shutdown, and the big problem is, I
mean to revis its expansion is the right thing to do.
It's the patriotic thing to do. To wish that it
was repealed altogether. Frankly, is the right thing to do.

(01:20):
Anything to expand this is a major problem. You gotta
understand the very first thing it did when it was
instituted in twenty fourteen. When it went the full effect
was increased costs on everybody. So what you have are
the good people, the people who are take care of themselves.
They just want to have some insurance for a rainy
d ink is a major expense comes along, so they
want to have health insurance. Those people are forced to

(01:41):
pay higher prices to pay for the people who just
don't take care of themselves at all. You know, politicians
just want to sweep into this thing. For example, the
average Medicaid enroll leef from twenty fourteen to twenty seventeen,
with twenty eight percent more costly than the previously is
a medicated person now because you have got. First of all,
you have the insurance company in between the buyer and
the seller right between the patient and the doctor. That

(02:02):
just rupts the price signal by itself. Then you have
the government stepping in a second barrier of separation between
the price being paid by the customer at the cash
register and the first the seller, the doctor or the hospital.
Not only that the premiums which did rise and have
consistently risen for everybody that number goes up, but with
their other hand, behind the scenes, they're taking money out

(02:24):
of the treasury and paying these increased costs is a
cost that are not seen by everybody. It doesn't show
up on your bill. So in these two ways, this
is making everything cost more without really giving the consumer
any kind of chance to do anything about it.

Speaker 1 (02:40):
All right, your book is called socialism the Gift that
keeps on taking. And when you talk about how the
government gets in the middle of all of this between
the doctors and the patients, you're right. They got to
grab their a little percentage of it as well. And
then they're not always doing what's best for the majority
of America. In fact, most likely a lot of times

(03:02):
it's quite the opposite. So if you were called in
Paul and by Speaker Mike Johnson and Chuck Schumer and
the three of you were sitting at the table and
they said, look, Paul, we're just not going to get
this done based on where we both believe we should
be with all of this in the healthcare and the
subsidiaries for people and who pays for what. We need

(03:24):
you to kind of be the I guess arbitrator if
you will. And let's what would your suggestion be to
Schumer and Johnson sitting at the table to get this
government back going?

Speaker 2 (03:34):
Step one, constructor gallows that two to send Schumer and
all the Democrats right out there and string them up.
It's probably the only way you get anything done. The
Puny effect is socialized medicine and monopolized medicine all over
the world has done nothing but increased cost and increase scarcity,
harm the consumer. It's always the same outcome in England,

(03:56):
in China and the USSR. I'm with you Canada, I
mean it's over and over again. People don't seem to
realize that. They point to Canada and say, oh, they
got free health care. It's incredibly expensive so called free healthcare.
The federal government alone in Canada takes one third of
the of GDP the national income, So one out of
every three dollars is taken by the Canadian federal government.
It's only one out of every four in the USA.

(04:18):
It's too much in both cases, but that's one thing
to keep in mind. Another thing too, is in Canada
the pond is seen. They have a social security ponds.
The scheme going there too, just like the US say.
But what's happening is because they're much more socialized, and
they started their socialized medicine much sooner in the middle
of the twentieth century. What they do is they raise
their social security the Old Age pension fund, so that
Canadians pay a higher social security tax than Americans. Canadians

(04:42):
pay seventeen percent total, Americans fifteen percent total. However, when
you adjust for the currencies and the exchange rate, Canadians
only get an average sociecurity check of one thousand a month,
whereas Americans get fifteen hundred of US. So that as
Canadians are paying more for social security but getting less
condition to getting lowsy health care with long weight lines.

(05:02):
That's another way that people pay. It doesn't show up
on a lot of these dollars dollars in costs.

Speaker 1 (05:06):
Well, you listen, Paul, you and I are on the
same page on this. But as far as getting this
government back to going again and you know, ending this shutdown,
and if this is the biggest issue, where's the compromise
for these guys to get or done? And what would
you suggest?

Speaker 2 (05:21):
My suggestion is, and this is why I'm not a
good politician. If there's a sword, If I'm putting a
sword into your belly, and I say I want to
ram it all the way through you, and someone says, well,
why don't you just take it halfway through your stuff?
That's not a compromise, that's a surrender. So for me,
I wouldn't get any more on this socialized matters. And
I say, you guys, you know you're not even talking
about American citizens here, talking about people who are illegal

(05:42):
invator in this country. The answer is, I say, stand
your ground. If you're doing the right thing, you stand
your ground. The bad guys should be shamed into just complying. Uh.
And that's honestly what I would do. There's no compromise.
You got to do the right thing.

Speaker 1 (05:56):
Well, I'm with you, Paul. I appreciate you this morning.
The book is called Socialism, The Gift that Keeps on
taking Paul Dayton there. Paul will have you back. I
appreciate your input this morning.

Speaker 2 (06:05):
Thank you. Please check out my site Paul Dayton dot
us