Hand it to Democrats and progressives: they are relentless pushing big government as the all-purpose cure-all.
One example is healthcare. To progressives, the fact that Obamacare is an un-repealable nationalization of the healthcare industry and huge swaths of the US economy isn’t enough. Regardless of how well it actually performs, the real goal is (and always has been) nationalized healthcare.
Luckily for progressives, left-wing Democrats are savvy enough to know that the change they want most often needs to happen in increments. So progressives will mostly live with Obamacare for a while before moving along with their case that it didn’t go far enough and the only answer is nationalization. They’ll keep pushing. The only question is how soon.
What’s next? America, meet your newest crisis: “Retirement Inequality.” Time ran a few articles in the last month previewing “major battles” in 2017 over “better retirement outcomes.” This one nicely previews the usual progressive talking points: 401(k) accounts unfairly benefit “wealthier wage earners” and victimize “lower-income, black, Hispanic, non-college educated, and single workers. “Women are particularly at risk,” etc.
Sound familiar?
There’s obviously a big problem with retirement planning and with 401(k)’s, but more top-down government-run programs are not the answer. Have they ever been?
If politicians want to fix “retirement inequality,” they should start with the fact that Americans are over-taxed and under-employed. Basic financial planning should be part of high school curricula, and workers should stop throwing away years of retirement savings on useless college degrees.
And that’s just for starters.
As the election cycle moves forward, keep an eye out for more from the candidates on “retirement inequality.”