Sorry Theresa, I Just Don't Feel The Bern

I've been on a lot of college visits this year. And I mean a lot of college visits. And every college has been remarkably different, with facilities, programs, locations, and vibes that could compare or contrast pretty significantly, but there's one thing that every college campus had without fail: the presence of that signature blue "Feel the Bern" slogan. Posters, stickers, keychains, what have you, it cannot be denied that college kids love them some Bernie. But what is it about Bernie, a 74 year-old man, that seems to resonate so strongly with the youths? Personally, I hold that there must be at least some significance in the fact that the man promising free college education is the same man beloved by the very people who are swimming in college debt, but there's more to it than that. College kids tend to be pretty idealistic, and what Bernie promises is all rooted in idealism. However, idealism doesn't pay the bills, and while I too would love to run through a meadow with the unicorns, someone is going to have to foot the bill for strapping horns onto all those horses.

This extremely fitting image already existed.

God bless the internet.

Let's take Bernie's healthcare plan for example. Bernie's plan, titled "Medicare For All," is based on the idea of providing Medicare for all citizens. Now we can debate all day about whether or not it is reasonable, possible, or necessary to provide Medicare for all U.S. citizens, but what Bernie promises is actually quite different from Medicare. Under Bernie's plan, all Americans would get dental, vision, hearing, mental-health, and long-term care. That's a lot of care, which is great, but that care costs money, which is... not so great. So, how is all this getting paid for? Where is the money coming from?

Just a suggestion. 

The answer is, no one knows. The theory behind it is that America would switch to a single-payer health-care model. In this single-payer system, the bureaucracy that currently regulates and controls insurance and healthcare would be reduced significantly which limits administrative costs, and due to the laws of supply and demand the cost of medicine and medical procedures would lower due to lack of competition that drives up prices. But this is only a theory. It is drastically different from what our current system is, and with most of the details of how exactly all of this would be implemented and paid for missing, it feels like sort of a scary gamble to be taking. Not only that, but the theory itself doesn't even account for all of the costs or payoff that it promises. Sanders claims that in ten years this plan will save ten trillion dollars. But it's not laid out clearly where exactly this money is coming from. Even with some generous estimates for what limited admin costs and lower drug prices would save, the amount does not equal ten trillion dollars.

Isn't math fun?

Look, the way I see it, if someone is going to be making all of these promises (because the promises sound pretty tempting, I will admit), there has to be a real, clearly-laid out system for how these changes are going to happen and how they're going to be successful. I understand the appeal of Bernie's idealism, but if he is actually going to be president there has to be substance behind his promises. No, I must admit, I just do not Feel the Bern. 

No one tell the students at Wash U.