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Do Americans Value Their Health

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In my argument I make the assumption that American citizens value their health. However one could dispute this, arguing that since a large percentage of the population continues to engage in activities that have a negative impact on their health status, such as smoking, consumers do not value their health. While the PPACA doesn’t lower compensation, it causes wages to decrease in order for benefits to increase. If Americans value their health as little as their behavior indicates, one could say that this tradeoff will lead to a decrease in the individual’s utility, as they would prefer to have $1 cash over $1 worth of health benefits. This means that the PPACA would be making society worse off, which goes against the purpose of government

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