a more likely scenario for the US:
those whose incomes are high enough to make it possible must accept self-protection for themselves and their families as a legal obligation and obtain insurance that covers both working and retirement years, including coverage for catastrophic and long-term health care costs... these folks are to obtain insurance either individually or through employers and premiums are to be tax deductible...government is to impose regulations that require insurance companies to accept persons who are 'bad risks'...those with low incomes are to obtain insurance, too, through 'medical assistance vouchers' sold on a sliding scale... Medicare and Medicaid will go out of existence...
any guess how insurance premiums would compare to taxes that might otherwise be paid to support a universal federal health insurance system?...how about methods of enforcement - liens on wages?... certainly the relative burden would be highest for those with low incomes...
and since we're going to require people to take out health insurance to meet the needs of old age, surely we can require them to take out insurance to provide retirement incomes, thus getting the federal government out of the 'business' of providing social security...and it would seem logical to require them to take out unemployment insurance...all while we 'empower' them with vouchers...call it progressive conservatism...Michael Hoover