Here’s an abbreviated conversation I had with a friend. The back story: This friend of mine is an Obama-hater (well, maybe he’d be more comfortable with “Obama Disliker,” he’s a Christian who doesn’t believe in hate). He has a very low wage restaurant job (a place where I used to work, which is how I know him). It kills me that people like him despise the very policies that would make his life better, and often do so for uninformed reasons. I hope that by speaking out I can change some minds. His words are in green. Here goes:
Every time I hear someone talking about how they’ve been waiting a long time for Obamacare to kick in, this is what I hear coming out of their mouth, “I’ve been waiting a long time for January 1, 2014 so I can get free health care that I didn’t earn, and have the tax payers, pay for it even if it means they don’t have money to live off of themselves”.
Shows how much you know. under the law everyone has to BUY insurance, not get it for free.**
People on welfare, get it for free. And that’s the main problem with it. Everyone has to buy it. Even if they can’t afford it. Do you not understand that most people in America, don’t make enough to have to buy health care. Not to mention, America is supposed to be the land of the free. How can we be free, if we have to buy something we can’t afford, or pay a fine for not having?
You have no clue what you’re talking about. Here’s a hint: trying reading about the law from a reputable news source.
I’m pretty sure I have an idea of what I’m talking about. But let me ask you a question. What if I decide against having health insurance and refuse to buy any. Will I remain unaffected. Will life go on as usual?
You’re below the poverty line, so if you can’t get Medicaid, no one is going to fine you. Here’s a really, really trustworthy source on that.
It doesn’t matter if that is true or not. The government is still forcing people to buy healthcare against their will and therefore is infringing on peoples rights. The government has no place telling anyone they’re required to buy healthcare. We live in a democracy. Obama’s trying to turn this country into a socialist country.
The spirit of the law is that you can pretty much do anything you want AS LONG AS IT DOES NOT INFRINGE ON ANYONE ELSE. Not buying health insurance when you can afford it IS INFRINGING. People who don’t have insurance get sick from time to time (duh) and when they go to the hospital and run up a hundred thousand dollars or more in medical bills that they will never, ever be able to pay, they are infringing on the hospital and on everyone who actually pays their bills because the hospital will probably just pass the cost on to the other patients through higher medical bills (Just like Walmart has to charge enough to cover the thefts they experience, so too the hospital has to charge enough to cover those folks who will never pay their bills). As for socialism, this just ain’t it. In fact, the republicans of the 1980’s came up with the idea of mandatory insurance as a free market ALTERNATIVE to socialized medicine (which, incidentally, I think is a much better plan than Obama’s, but our country would never go along with it, so what he’s putting out there is the best we’ll ever get).
I see. You’ve really thought this out. I accept that I was wrong about some of this and I’m going to think about this issue some more.
I made that last one up, he did NOT really say that. We can dream, though, can’t we?
**By “everybody” I just meant mostly everybody, under the Affordable Care Act the folks who can’t afford insurance will be on medicaid, and the margin of people who don’t qualify for medicaid and also can’t afford insurance won’t have either and will not be penalized for it].
