Boston University Health Care and Changes to Budget Policy Discussion discussion questions. read the slides to do them, just 6 questions, ————- THO

Boston University Health Care and Changes to Budget Policy Discussion discussion questions. read the slides to do them, just 6 questions, ————- THOSE QUESTIONS LOOK AT SLIDE OF APRIL 22
LOOK AT SLIDE OF APRIL 20:
Today’s Agenda
Intro
remarks
Section 8. The U.S. Government in Action
The policy making process
45. How can the U.S. government be $225 trillion in debt?
46. Are taxes too high in America?
47. Why is the health care system so hard to reform?
Next Class
Q45. How can the U.S. government be $225
trillion in debt?
Corona Virus
Stimulus
CARES Act
$2.2 Trillion –
how the money
was spent
How much do you owe?
How does the U.S. finance the debt?
2019 federal budget . . .
Summary of
the federal
budget
2018 Federal Spending
2017 Federal Revenue
U.S. Budget Key Terms to know

National Debt

National Deficit

Discretionary Spending

Mandatory Spending or Entitlements

Individual Income Tax

Corporate Income Tax

Social Insurance Payroll Tax
Politics of the Budget process . . . Core
differences between the parties
 Republicans:
favor tax cuts and low
deficits
 Democrats: favor higher taxes and
expensive government programs
The Growing Expenditures on Social
Security and other Entitlement Programs
Republican view
on entitlements
Military Spending . . .
Democrats
typically
not that
excited by
the rate of
defense
spending
Discussion Question 1: So why don’t we
bring the deficit under control?

Identify five changes that you would make to the budget
to try to control the debt
-
spending changes?
-
tax increases?
-
entitlement reform?
Make a list . . .
Sum up

Why $ 25 Trillion in debt?

1. Simply – we spend a lot more than we take in.

2. Fundamental differences between the parties on taxes and spending
priorities make it a very difficult political issue.

3. Entitlement or mandatory spending keeps going up as people live longer

4. How long is it sustainable? Unclear.
Q46. Are taxes too high in America?

Discussion Question 2

If someone makes:

A. $ 20,000 per year

B. $ 60,000 per year

C. $ 100,000 per year

D. $ 300,000 per year

E. $ 1,000,000 per year

F. $ 1,000,000,000 per year
How much should they pay in federal taxes? Give a percentage for
each. . . How would you define reasonable taxation?
The raging
debate over
tax policy.
The current federal tax rates. Too high?
Worldwide comparison of tax rates . . .
Not just federal taxes though – Rates by State . . .
And they there is sales tax by state
Famous Warren Buffett quote (who is he)?

He famously said that his “secretary pays a higher tax rate than he does.”

“Last year my federal tax bill — the income tax I paid, as well as payroll taxes paid by
me and on my behalf — was $6,938,744. That sounds like a lot of money. But what I
paid was only 17.4 percent of my taxable income — and that’s actually a lower
percentage than was paid by any of the other 20 people in our office” (Warren Buffett
in 2011, New York Times column)

How is this possible???
Understanding the capital gains tax . . .
Income Inequality . . .
Is the tax
system to
blame?
Key Terms
 Progressive
 Regressive
Taxation
Taxation
 Types
of taxes: federal income tax, state
income tax, sales tax
 Capital
Gains Tax
Sum up, so are taxes too high?
 1)
Really depends on your point of view and
what you think the role of government is.
 2)1Taxes
are not that high relative to other
countries.
 3)
But taking up 50 % of income is viewed
as detrimental to human ingenuity and the
capitalist spirit by some people.
Q47. Why is the health care system so
hard to reform? programs we have . . .
Health care
is many
citizens top
concern
Discussion Question 3
 Is
it the responsibility of the
Government to make certain that all
citizens have access to health care?
 If
so, at level of quality?
Major Healthcare Initiatives over Time
 1965
– Medicaid
 1966
– Medicare
 2003
– Medicare Plan D
 2010
– Affordable Care Act
Key terms in the health care debate
 Single-payer
 “socialized
system
medicine”
 Medicare-for-all
 Public
option (Biden Proposal)
 Employer-Based-System
 HMO
System
Health care Costs in the U.S.

Five Steps
1) identify problem
2) generate a list of solutions
3) select a solution
4) implement solution
5) evaluate success
Homelessness
case . . .
Health care costs to the average family . . .
Drug Prices in the U.S.

Actors at the Federal Level
 1)
President – executive orders, implementation of laws
 2)
Congress – pass laws
 3)
Federal agencies – implementation
 4)
Courts – not really intended
Physician pay . . .
Percent of Population Uninsured. . .
Quality of care . . .
So, why so hard to reform?
Discussion Topic 3:

Brain Storm . . .
Sum up – Why so hard to reform
healthcare?
 1)
Fundamental Ideological differences
– Is the government responsible to
provide healthcare to all citizens?
 2) The Current U.S. System is so
Complex – it is very difficult to reform.
Next Class
 48.Why
don’t we pass more gun control legislation?
 49.Why is immigration such a hot-button issue?
 Readings:
Complete textbook Chapter 13 plus
readings on guns and immigration.
Sign-off
 Thinking
about the final exam

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