Mar 5, 2019
David Brooks: Without faith in government, "Medicare for All" is a pipe dream
Photo: Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call
David Brooks writes in his New York Times column Tuesday that Democrats' "Medicare for All" is a pipe dream, because it requires massive faith in an unworthy and mistrusted government.
"There's no plausible route from here to there. ... If America were a blank slate, Medicare for All would be a plausible policy, but we are not a blank slate. At this point, the easiest way to get to a single-payer system would probably be to go back to 1776 and undo that whole American Revolution thing."
Sneak peek: The findings of the Axios Harris Poll 100, a partnership between Axios and Harris Poll dropping tomorrow, will bolster Brooks' point:
- For 20 years, Harris Poll has been measuring the reputations of the most high-profile American companies. This year, for the first time, people mentioned the U.S. government as a "company" that they think about — and they hate it.
Go deeper: New Medicare for All proposal goes beyond Bernie Sanders