The federal government has been shut down for over two weeks concerning the issue of healthcare subsidies, but this problem has been festering for decades. From Medicare and Medicaid to Obamacare, politicians have sought to transfer a greater share of healthcare expenses to taxpayers. And they’ve succeeded.
The question is how long these subsidies can continue to grow without endangering the fisc or inciting a taxpayer revolt.
Last year, the federal government spent almost $2 trillion on healthcare programs—more than twice the size of the defense budget and several times what was spent on any other sector. Over 40 cents of every $1 the federal government collected in taxes went to health care.
This is a preview of our full op-ed originally published in Bloomberg TaxA tax is a mandatory payment or charge collected by local, state, and national governments from individuals or businesses to cover the costs of general government services, goods, and activities..
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