It’s Their Fault

There has been much discussion about the rising cost of healthcare in the United States, and there will continue to be as the election heats up. While many of the costs of our poor healthcare system have been discussed by candidates and special interest groups - especially the fact that young graduates have trouble securing and affording health insurance - not many have brought up how the health care situation in the country is turning talented, artistic graduates away from pursuing their creative goals.

As many recent graduates will attest, boomers parents are obsessed with their children getting health care immediately. This usually means getting a full time, corporate job. As a result, many who would otherwise embark on creative careers that require internships or independent work turn to nine to five jobs in order to secure health insurance. The only people who can go on to afford to live without health insurance and pursue creative dreams are the independently wealthy: those who will be taken care of by their parents.

This trend is especially apparent in New York (where somebody is finally doing something about it), but it is a universal and troubling phenomenon–control of U.S. cultural life is increasingly becoming the exclusive domain of the wealthy.