What You Already Pay
Slide your income. See the hidden cost of broken systems — ER cost-shifting, incarceration, lost productivity — vs. what Foundation would actually cost you. Spoiler: you're already paying more.
The most common objection to Foundation is “how do we pay for it?” The real question is: how much are you already paying for the system you have?
The Hidden Bill
Your insurance premiums include the cost of uninsured ER visits — roughly $1,800/year for a median-income household. Your property taxes fund emergency services for preventable crises. Your share of the $80 billion/year incarceration system runs about $450. Lost workforce productivity from untreated health conditions costs employers (and therefore employees) about $600. Retail theft driven by desperation adds a markup to everything you buy.
Add it up: at $65,000 household income, you’re paying roughly $6,400/year for the consequences of not having Foundation. A progressive Foundation contribution at the same income would be about $2,275.
You’re already paying for the floor. You’re just paying for the worst version of it — emergency response instead of prevention, incarceration instead of treatment, lost productivity instead of investment.
See the full Foundation framework →
Built by Æ for Humanity and AI. Hidden cost estimates from KFF, BJS, EPI, and NRF research.