Make America Healthy

The December 8, 2019 edition of the New York Times titled “Finland Is Our Capitalist Paradise,” and the December 15, 2019 edition of the New York Times article titled “The Decade in Retirement Security” were the main references for this essay. This essay addressed a previous recession, its ripple effect and suggested that we should implement healthy ideas from Finland’s capitalistic system.

In spite of the current gains made in employment numbers, the recession prior to 2010 continued to be a burden for older Americans ages 55 to 64. During that recession, many either lost their main employment and/or have been faced with limited wage growth. However, employment and wages for higher income level employees have not suffered. Unemployment numbers have soared from 3.1% in the first quarter of 2007 to 7.1% in the third quarter of 2010. Also higher are the numbers of underemployment as well as people who’d given up looking for jobs. Despite gains in the reduced time of looking for employment, median weekly earnings for full-time workers have not risen measurably. For example, the number was $861 in the third quarter of 2008 compared to $872 during the third quarter of 2019 according to Census Bureau. So finding a job might not have helped nor increased earning power.

In addition from suffering from limited employment and wages, loss in retirement savings have also affected older Americans. In essence, older Americans have not recovered. Just 52% of American households owned retirement accounts in 2018 compared to 50% in 2010. Among households that had workplace retirement plans, the average account balances jumped 22% from 2006 to 2018. Once again, those continuously employed especially with access to retirement plans, benefited the most.

Workers who lost their jobs and then their retirement plans also lost their health insurance, and faced the nightmare of pre-existing conditions, higher premiums with higher deductibles. The Affordable Care Act tremendously helped those individuals who lost their health insurance. However, the growth of Medicare Advantage Plans had been a surprise despite the findings of federal investigators. They found a pattern of inappropriate denials of patient claims and also the quality of care has been diminished.

Without income it’s difficult to pay down or pay off one’s mortgage. Home ownership rates for older Americans had fallen sharply since the recession according to the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University. It’s believed that homeowners enjoy greater housing security and more predictable housing cost than do renters. Older households are also carrying greater mortgage debts and are more burdened by their housing costs.

Also affected by the consequences of  the recession, have been Social Security recipients  .Benefit changes enacted in 1983 are gradually pushing up the programs for retirement age for those born in 1960 or later. Social Security had been the main source of income for most Americans 10 years after the crash. Social Security benefits are shrinking as Medicare Part B premiums have increased resulting in lower net paid benefits.

In 2019, we’ve had a government shutdown; a trade war or tax to Americans; a so-called Border Wall crisis; income tax reduction for the top 1%; an increase in Defense spending; and an impeachment. These policies have not made America great but more ill with increased anxiety, fear, frustration, expectation and anger levels for those older white workers.  In the present, they are filled with failure, humiliation, and loss of control while their future looks like a doom and gloom scenario. Wait, let’s take a look at Finland. They do have the highest level of happiness or life satisfaction in the world. Perhaps we can learn from this prosperous capitalistic country.

1. They have universal taxpayer-funded healthcare that equals our US quality without confusing paperwork or haggling over huge bills 2. They have diverse public day care centers with enrichment activities staffed by professionals. About $300 a month is the maximum for public day care 3. They have one of the world’s best K-12 education systems at no cost regardless of the neighborhood. Colleges are also tuition free 4. They have paid parental leave for nearly a year 5.  They have paid annual vacations for six weeks which is also the norm 6. They have become one of the world’s wealthiest societies 7. They are the home to many highly successful global companies-the largest mobile phone company in the world. It’s  more business friendly than in the US .Also, it is better on key free market indices including greater protection of private property, less impact on competition from government controls and more openness to trade and capital flows according to the World Bank. 8. They have a higher level of economic mobility across generations than the children the United States 9. They have higher levels of personal political freedom and more secure political rights than citizens of the United States. Employees get paid decent wages and are supported by high-quality democratically accounted public services that enable everyone to live healthy with dignified lives and enjoy real equity for themselves and children. These are just a few of the statistics regarding Finland.

Politicians and greedy capitalists have created a disservice, a non-objective, a biased assault with erroneous assumptions and  a hateful mythology .In so doing the word” socialism” or” socialist’  has a negative, emotional or toxic meaning. Yet, greed and wealth, for the few, are considered good despite not being available for the masses.  Why not adjust our capitalistic economy to work in cooperation with the state or government? This means incorporating and adding a limited socialistic philosophy that is based on self-respect. We know that economics affects man’s needs. This means that our economics and political system must work together to reduce man’s anxiety, fears, frustration, anger and alienation. Then, we can make America healthier.  We can do this by: 1. Providing free child care and a free college education. This will enable most everyone to raise their skill level for a more meaningful with more employment opportunities.2.Providing better health care like Medicare. 3. Providing private healthcare a chance to compete with Medicare, if they can. 4. Providing higher wages for a living wage.

Enormous or excess profits to the few, employing low wages, poor working conditions, limited advancement etc.  Are not moral nor healthy.  We should not abolish capitalism, billionaires or profit. On the contrary, we can admire billionaires and unrig the current narcissistic, greedy and deceptive economic and political system. Per Warren Buffett, change the tax code and make it fair and be sure to include corporations. Raising taxes- a flat rate without loopholes is fair, not a bad thing and doesn’t limit economic incentive nor growth. Let’s improve our capitalism by incorporating more humanistic thinking, ideas and implementation.

Reduce the anxiety, fear, discomfort and stress around wages and unemployment so that retirement, health insurance, wage gains, housing and social security benefits can be positives and benefit all. Provide additional social or socialist humanistic programs not just Social Security, Medicare, and bailouts to farmers- especially during the tax- trade war debacle. A single-payer health care system and free college tuition are just two steps in the right direction even though our Finnish friends see these two basic ideas as just the norm. Perhaps one day, we might compete with the Finns in having a higher level of happiness and life satisfaction.

PS

Berea College is located in Kentucky, private, diversified, liberal arts, tuition free for low income students that work 10 hours per week on campus and provides room and board assistance.