From The Left
by Allen Jo
     With all the confusing politics and jargon, it is hard to decide whether the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is beneficial or not. Questions arise such as would the ACA increase my premium and hurt the economy, or would the ACA take away my freedoms? In reality, the ACA will do none of that instead; the act will expand the private health center, lower premiums, and expand coverage to millions of Americans.

     Put simply, after the law was passed, one million new private sector jobs were created. Not surprisingly, the health sector still remains as the fastest growing sector in our economy. What about government expenditure? According to the Congressional Budget Office, the ACA will actually reduce our deficit by $230 billion over the next decade and even over $1 trillion by the end of the following decade.

     Also, the act will make insurance companies to use 80-85 percent of the premiums on “healthcare and quality improvements.” This will and has forced insurance companies to be more cautious when raising premium prices. California alone was able to raise $200 million in premium savings for 100,000 retirees and their families under this new law. What is even more amazing is that the new tax credits in the bill will allow a family of four with a yearly income of $55,000 to save $6,000, and a single mother with an income of $33,000 to save up to $10,000, which means even some of the most unfortunate families can afford healthcare for the first time.

     129 million Americans today have conditions that may prevent them from receiving coverage. Under this new law, these Americans now be sure that they will receive coverage, which includes cancer survivors. Americans with pre-existing health conditions, especially children, can now receive affordable coverage, which means that parents can give the care their children need without going bankrupt, which unfortunately has happened before. As possible future doctors, we need to take ethics seriously, and allowing so many people to suffer unnecessarily goes against what we stand for. It is a no brainer that the ACA is step forward for the better.

From the Right
by Steven Qian

     I would be kidding you if I said that that the United States had debt issues. No, not at all. What the U.S. really has in its hands, is a debt dilemma, a problem that if not solved, will lead to the economic defaulting of our nation.

     It seems to me that few politicians understand the core of the issue, or if they are, they are neglecting to address it. If we break down U.S. federal spending, we see that Medicare & Medicaid account for the largest chunk, about 23%, Social Security at 20%, defense at 20%, discretionary spending 19%, other mandatory spending at 12%, and interest off our debt at 6%. In recent attempts to curb our spending, politicians have focused their efforts on reducing the amount of money put into that small chunk of discretionary spending, cutting down on things such as education reform, and cutting back minimally on defense expenditures. In the big picture, however, these cutbacks result in small to no difference. What really needs to be addressed here is the 43% from Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security, a problem that will only get bigger in the coming years.

     It is projected that by 2020, Medicare & Medicaid alone will account for about 40% of our total spending. The truth here is that our economic growth cannot keep up with the growth of the aging population. As our boomers get older, more and more of them will begin to rely on Medicare and Social Security benefits for their well-being. At the same time, these people will stop working and contribute to the economy with only the small amount of taxes they have to pay. In essence, we, the young and working class, are feeding these leeches and parasites who will give nothing back to us.

     I’ll admit that it’s a bit cruel, but let’s be honest, it isn’t completely untrue. Their tax outputs on Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid were meager compared to what ours is now. They were a large working class sustaining a relatively small aged population. For us, the situation has completely reversed, with the aging population continuing to grow, the working population comparatively dwindling, with no forecasted end in sight. We need to fix this problem now, before things spiral out of control.

     It seems difficult to cut down on these aspects. The elderly depend on any savings they have accumulated and these programs for their survival. Social Security is minimalistic as is, and Medicare & Medicaid help provide people with the healthcare they need. Politically, Medicaid, Medicaid, and Social Security are taboos. Politicians neglect these issues because they know that much of their vote depends on the older population, who vote much more consistently than the young. Any talk of reduction of these programs will cost them the votes of the elderly, and most likely the election. It seems to me that most politicians at this point are more concerned about remaining in office than making a true difference.

     I don’t think reduction is a solution. Rather, I believe we need an alternative. It seems ironic that we would be trying to eliminate a program which we have been paying for for so long and that we can depend on, but it’s not something that our nation can financially cope with. We need to implement new and more effective savings plans to overwrite Social Security, cheaper healthcare alternatives to replace Medicare and Medicaid, and incentives to gradually phase along the transition.

     Let’s face it. I’m just a typical university student. I’m no expert on our federal spending and certainly no political genius. But I know a problem when I see one.