Milton Friedman's Vision: A ‘Plan for America’ and the Future of Entitlements

Milton Friedman was a staunch advocate for privatizing Medicaid and Social Security, relying on the free market to regulate healthcare. The 'Plan for America' (PFA) is a proposal to bring this vision to life. Terry Nager, one of the co-authors of this plan, aimed to fortify the nation's entitlement programs, alleviate the country's deficits, debts, and unfunded liabilities, and provide Americans with personal accounts that they could grow using compound interest. These accounts would grant individuals the freedom and resources to purchase private lifetime health insurance.

 

Nager provides an in-depth discussion on how the PFA would operate, the origins of the plan, why attempts to privatize entitlement programs failed under President George W. Bush, why the plan would appeal to younger generations, and how it could guarantee the same benefits currently associated with Social Security and Medicare. He also addresses the prospect of most people accruing sufficient funds in their accounts to bequeath a financial legacy to their families.

 

The PFA has recently held its inaugural major conference and is in the midst of updating its future projections.

 

To learn more, click these links:

 

‘Plan for America’ Pushes Private Accounts to Fix Entitlement Programs, Health Care News, May 16. 2023 (includes links to the first PFA conference, April 28, 2023, Principia College)

 

Plan for America, A Public-Private Partnership:  https://www.theplanforamerica.us

 

Terry Nager, CFP, CHFC, CLU, Eric Nager, CRPS, Kyre Lahtinen, Ph.D.

The Plan for America:  How to Place the American Dream on a Sure Foundation Forever, (2020),

Amazon, $9.95

Creators & Guests

Host

AnneMarie Schieber

AnneMarie Schieber brings decades of experience as an investigative news reporter to the forefront as host of Health Care News from The Heartland Institute. Along with hosting the podcast, Schieber is the managing editor of Health Care News, Heartland's monthly newspaper for health care reform. Before her work in the liberty movement, Schieber spent several decades at television stations in Michigan, Minnesota, New York and Pennsylvania. The Associated Press awarded her the top honor of "Best Individual Reporting" for being the first reporter to call attention to government efforts to subsidize spending by increasing automobile fines, typically on low-income motorists.

What is Health Care News Podcast?

The Heartland Institute podcast featuring libertarian and conservative health care scholars who are working to put power back into the hands of patients and doctors, and away from government bureaucrats.