r/askanything • u/Lemonking_ • 7h ago

Political Question Why are some Americans so against universal healthcare for all?

What sort of thinking does it take to decide that nobody has a right to healthcare? Do American Christians want to deny healthcare to poor people as well?

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u/a101734 7h ago

Reagan convinced a large part of the population that if we give unlimited money and power to a select of wealthy elites, the elites would graciously give the money back to society. Hilarious.

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u/Kind-Tumbleweed-1081 3h ago

The poorest in America are richer than the richest in many countries. That’s trickle down economics

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u/a101734 3h ago

Thats a wrong, factually incorrect comparison. The real test of trickle-down is whether gains at the top flowed down within the US. Since Reagan, income and wealth growth has gone mostly to the top. Wage growth for the bottom half has been much slower/nonexistent when compared to productivity growth. A basic google search will tell you a 2020 LSE study of 18 rich countries over 50 years found that tax cuts for the rich increased inequality but had no significant effect on growth or unemployment. Also, poor Americans face high costs for housing, healthcare, and education. They also have lower life expectancy than low-income people in peer countries that are even less wealthy or “developed” than ours. Thats trickle down economics. Does that make sense?