A game of Monopoly – Health Care edition

posted at 11:47 am on August 21, 2009 by MadisonConservative

I have always loved the game Monopoly. Ever since I was a kid, I never turn down a chance to play it. People usually don’t want to, either because they think the game takes forever because they never trade properties, or because I always win. In debating the health care debacle with some people, I realized that some really don’t understand the concepts involved in introducing a public option. I thought a comparison to the game of Monopoly might help.

Now, let’s say I’m playing with four other people. The four other people are normal monopoly players, playing by the normal rules. They represent private insurance companies. Now, I’m going to join the game. However, I get a different set of rules because I say so. I represent the public option.

First, in normal Monopoly rules, everyone collects $200 from the bank when they pass GO. Let’s refer to this as the capital that insurance companies get in order to run their business. They get it from revenues earned by competing in the health insurance market. However, for me, the rule is different. When I pass go, instead of getting $200 from the bank(customers), I instead collect $50 from each of the other players. Why? Well, the government gets its revenues by collecting taxes, not by providing competitive services. So, while the other players are collecting their money from passing GO from customers, I’m collecting my money from them. Their wealth is going down, directly leading to mine going up. Already, I have an advantage, because I’m the government. Guess what, though? Not only do I collect $50 from each of the other players every time I pass go, but I get $100 from the bank! See, the government doesn’t only collect taxes from businesses, but they also collect it from their customers! Once again, I have an advantage, because I’m the government.

Next, comes the rule about buying property. It’s fairly simple. All players have to buy property using the money they’ve collected from passing GO(at least, at the beginning). Now, this means that the four other players(the insurance companies) are purchasing Atlantic Avenue and St. James Place with money that they earned from the bank(their customers). However, for me(the government), the rule is again different. I’m still buying property with money I have, but it didn’t just come from the bank. It came from the other players. I’m not buying property with the bank’s money, but with the other player’s money. Again, I have an advantage, because I’m the government.

Now, are you seeing what happens? Every time I go around the board, I’m actually taking money from the players who get it from the bank. We’re both buying property, but every time I collect my money, their ability to buy property goes down, while my ability goes up.

The final, and most crucial part of Monopoly, is the collection of rents. When you own a property, and another player lands on it, they need to pay you some money. Now, this rule isn’t entirely applicable in principle to the health care industry, but it still makes a point. Remember how I’m collecting $50 from each of the other players every time I pass go? I’ll probably only pay each of them $50 each in rents every time I go around the board, maybe even less. So, once again, I’m coming out ahead of them. Here’s the kicker, though: I collect rents, too. So while I’m collecting rents(competing in the health care market) just like the rest of them, their rents eventually come back to me in taxes.

How are they going to win if all of their money just keeps coming to me? They can’t afford to put any houses or hotels on their property, because the combination of my collection of $50 from them every time I pass go, and my collection of rents, is keeping them from moving ahead. Meanwhile, I’m using all that cash for my own purposes…perhaps raising my own rents(new taxes).

Most importantly, if I’m playing, who is going to want to play?

If nobody plays, who do I collect my money from when I pass GO?

If I don’t have any money, how can I buy any properties(or how can the government provide decent health care)?

Blowback