Elizabeth Warren Drawing Criticism from Left and Right on Unrealistic Medicare for All Plan

Elizabeth Warren’s fairy tale Medicare for All plan drew significant criticism on Friday.

Over the weekend, her Democratic rivals got in on the action, criticizing the new plan from the left and right. 

WSJ: “Mr. Sanders, an independent from Vermont who is also seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, told ABC News that Ms. Warren’s proposal would “have a very negative impact on creating jobs” because she would tap employers to pay $9 trillion in new taxes. The structure of that tax could function, over time, as a per-worker levy, making it more costly to hire low-wage employees.”

Sanders’ criticism tracks with an analysis by the Tax Policy Center, which finds her plan to be regressive through what is essentially a new flat tax. 

Tax Policy Center: “However, her proposal would be regressive.  Warren’s indirect levy is effectively a flat tax on all workers at the same firm…And she has found a clever way to make middle-income people finance a portion of government health insurance without paying a direct tax. But make no mistake, they still will be paying.”

Criticism of Warren from Pete Buttigieg and Joe Biden has not stopped after she released a financing plan. 

Pete Buttigieg
Real Clear Politics: “I’m thinking, for example, about union members who fought and negotiated for good plans they have today. They don’t want to have to abandon those plans because Washington tells them they must do that in four years or less. It doesn’t make sense….Well, the math is certainly controversial. Again, there are variations in the estimates in the trillions and trillions and trillions of dollars.”

Joe Biden
PBS: “Former Vice President Joe Biden attacked Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s new health care plan Friday, saying his chief 2020 Democratic rival was obscuring the real costs of her $20 trillion “Medicare for All” proposal. ‘She’s making it up,’ Biden said in an interview with PBS NewsHour anchor and managing editor Judy Woodruff.”