It is not surprising to see Boston College students “Feeling the Bern,” but I believe Mr. Behrens’s column supporting Sanders misses a few points. A full debate about health care is too complex to cover here, but it should be noted that Bernie’s home state of Vermont recently attempted to institute a single-payer system, only to see it defeated because of the massive tax increases that would have been necessary to pay for it. Bottom line: Americans don’t want single-payer and the burdens that come with it. The government-run health care that we already have—for our veterans—has proven to be a disaster, as many have died after being put on long waiting lists. The reality is that Sanders’s claims rely on the government’s delivering health care at unrealistically cheaper costs than our current system, which could only be achieved through aggressively rationing care. Ultimately, the health care issue will have to be solved through the introduction of market forces, while also assuring that those who cannot afford care are taken care of, not by socializing our medicine.
Michael Crupi
MCAS ’16
Featured Image by The Associated Press
