乔纳森·格鲁伯-财政学（第五版）gruber_5e_lecture_slides_ch01.pptxVIP

Copyright ? 2010 Worth Publishers 1.1 The Four Questions of Public Finance1.2 Why Study Public Finance? Facts on Government in the United States and Around the World1.3 Why Study Public Finance Now? Policy Debates over Social Security, Health Care, and Education1.4 ConclusionWhy Study Public Finance? 1Heather Luea and Dan SacksP R E P A R E D B Y Introduction: The Affordable Care Act1.1On March 23, 2010, President Barack Obama signed into law the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, commonly known as the ACA. Under the ACA, the government was projected to spend nearly $1 trillion on public health insurance and subsidies to private health insurance coverage between 2010 and 2019. This spending would be offset by spending reductions on existing public insurance programs and new taxes on the medical sector and the wealthy. As a result of the ACA, insurance companies can no longer discriminate against sick patients, and individuals who can afford health insurance must purchase it or pay a penalty. In addition, dozens of new initiatives are being undertaken in an attempt to control runaway health care spending in the United States Introduction: The Affordable Care Act1.1Despite its passage, the ACA continues to be debated ferociously in Congress, in the states, and in campaigns at all levels of government. Supporters argue that the bill corrects failed insurance markets, reduces the economic burden on the uninsured, and moves to control health care costs in the long run.Opponents of the legislation viewed the ACA as an unwarranted expansion of government power into the health care sector—and an enormous expansion of government spending at a time of record deficits.The controversies over the proper role of the government in dealing with health care coverage and costs raise the fundamental questions addressed by the branch of economics known as public finance. The Four Questions of Public Finance1.1Public finance: The study of the role of the government in