SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
New York congressional candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez speaking Sunday with CNN's Jake Tapper. (Image: screengrab)
New York congressional candidate and democratic socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez defended a key (and widely supported) pillar of her progressive platform--Medicare for All--on Sunday, saying such systems are "not just pie in the sky" but have been proven in other Western democracies and would be "good for our future."
Ocasio-Cortez made the comments on CNN's "State of the Union" when pressed by host Jake Tapper about how she proposes to fund a platform that also includes a federal jobs guarantee, tuition-free public college and trade school, and student loan debt cancellation.
She stressed that "one of the things that we need to realize" is that "Medicare for all would save the American people a very large amount of money."
"And what we see as well is that these systems are not just pie in the sky." She noted that "many of them are accomplished by every modern, civilized democracy in the Western world." For example, she said, "the United Kingdom has a form of single-payer health care, Canada, France, Germany."
"What we need to realize is that these investments are better and they are good for our future. These are generational investments... they're not short-term Band-Aids, but they are really profound decisions about who we want to be as a nation... and how we want to act as the wealthiest nation in the history of the world."
She went on to acknowledge the "political realities" the prove barriers to needed reforms. "They don't always happen with just the wave of a wand. But we can work to make these things happen."
Ocasio-Cortez addressed the same issue last month with CNN's Chris Cuomo. "People talk about the sticker shock of Medicare for All--they do not talk about the sticker shock of the cost of our existing system," she said.
"We only have empty pockets when it comes to the morally right things to do," she said at the time, "but when it comes to tax cuts for billionaires and when it comes to unlimited war, we seem to be able to invent that money very easily."
Watch the new exchange below:
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
New York congressional candidate and democratic socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez defended a key (and widely supported) pillar of her progressive platform--Medicare for All--on Sunday, saying such systems are "not just pie in the sky" but have been proven in other Western democracies and would be "good for our future."
Ocasio-Cortez made the comments on CNN's "State of the Union" when pressed by host Jake Tapper about how she proposes to fund a platform that also includes a federal jobs guarantee, tuition-free public college and trade school, and student loan debt cancellation.
She stressed that "one of the things that we need to realize" is that "Medicare for all would save the American people a very large amount of money."
"And what we see as well is that these systems are not just pie in the sky." She noted that "many of them are accomplished by every modern, civilized democracy in the Western world." For example, she said, "the United Kingdom has a form of single-payer health care, Canada, France, Germany."
"What we need to realize is that these investments are better and they are good for our future. These are generational investments... they're not short-term Band-Aids, but they are really profound decisions about who we want to be as a nation... and how we want to act as the wealthiest nation in the history of the world."
She went on to acknowledge the "political realities" the prove barriers to needed reforms. "They don't always happen with just the wave of a wand. But we can work to make these things happen."
Ocasio-Cortez addressed the same issue last month with CNN's Chris Cuomo. "People talk about the sticker shock of Medicare for All--they do not talk about the sticker shock of the cost of our existing system," she said.
"We only have empty pockets when it comes to the morally right things to do," she said at the time, "but when it comes to tax cuts for billionaires and when it comes to unlimited war, we seem to be able to invent that money very easily."
Watch the new exchange below:
New York congressional candidate and democratic socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez defended a key (and widely supported) pillar of her progressive platform--Medicare for All--on Sunday, saying such systems are "not just pie in the sky" but have been proven in other Western democracies and would be "good for our future."
Ocasio-Cortez made the comments on CNN's "State of the Union" when pressed by host Jake Tapper about how she proposes to fund a platform that also includes a federal jobs guarantee, tuition-free public college and trade school, and student loan debt cancellation.
She stressed that "one of the things that we need to realize" is that "Medicare for all would save the American people a very large amount of money."
"And what we see as well is that these systems are not just pie in the sky." She noted that "many of them are accomplished by every modern, civilized democracy in the Western world." For example, she said, "the United Kingdom has a form of single-payer health care, Canada, France, Germany."
"What we need to realize is that these investments are better and they are good for our future. These are generational investments... they're not short-term Band-Aids, but they are really profound decisions about who we want to be as a nation... and how we want to act as the wealthiest nation in the history of the world."
She went on to acknowledge the "political realities" the prove barriers to needed reforms. "They don't always happen with just the wave of a wand. But we can work to make these things happen."
Ocasio-Cortez addressed the same issue last month with CNN's Chris Cuomo. "People talk about the sticker shock of Medicare for All--they do not talk about the sticker shock of the cost of our existing system," she said.
"We only have empty pockets when it comes to the morally right things to do," she said at the time, "but when it comes to tax cuts for billionaires and when it comes to unlimited war, we seem to be able to invent that money very easily."
Watch the new exchange below: