By Timothy Shaw
Letters, The Capital Times (Madison, Wis.), July 19, 2011
The Army taught us to follow our compasses instead of our native directional instincts. Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich explains that during the Depression, Utah businessman Marriner Eccles devised an economic compass to guide the nation out of economic catastrophe. Instinctively, conventional wisdom held that enriching the Wall Street/corporate class would eventually allow for economic growth. Hoover, then Roosevelt, followed this path only to find that the economy worsened.
Eccles theorized the problem wasn’t that the corporate class didn’t have enough capital, it was the workers did not have enough money to create the demand for America’s goods and services, and therefore job creation was stalled. Roosevelt eventually followed Eccles’ advice, expanded government spending, put money into the workers’ hands, created jobs, and the economy recovered.
During 1993-2000, Reich employed Eccles’ “compass.” By the time he left office, 23 million jobs had been created, the national debt was being paid down, and there was a budget surplus.
Applying the “Eccles/Reich compass” to health care, we should EXPAND Medicare, not cut it. American business cannot compete globally because of health care costs. A Green Bay small business owner pays $215,000 in health care insurance costs for 14 employees. A Medicare-for-all health system would collectively bargain to reduce medical costs per person, improve consumer confidence, increase workers’ buying power to create more jobs, and thus grow the economy.
The Army also taught us that the battle is won when ALL the soldiers cross the bridge together.
Timothy Shaw, M.D., resides in Fitchburg, Wis.
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