So, I have been writing quite a bit lately on Obamacare, and hopefully, it is not overbearing.
It's just that it pisses me off. Very typically American, the general negativity and exaggerated skepticism surrounding Obamacare, or the Affordable Care Act, or whatever the hell else people want to call it.
To me, it does not go nearly far enough. But for far too many Americans (maybe even the majority, if some polls are to be believed), the mere mention of the name sends chills down their spins.
Now, I mention the fear associated with the name specifically, because it seems that is really what Americans are concerned about. Anything these days with the name "Obama" associated with it conjures up the worst things with many people.
Again, I don't want to sound like a broken record here, but I have to say that I am not a big fan of President Obama. Didn't believe the hype or vote for him in 2008, much less in 2012. He is just another part of the problem, so far as I am concerned.
That said, I was pleasantly surprised with what is, so far, his signature achievement - the passing of the Affordable Care Act, or as it has come to be known, Obamacare. That name does have negative connotations associated with it for many people.
Yet, here is the thing: when you remove the name and ask most Americans about some of the specific ideas about it, and perhaps overall the spirit behind these laws, most Americans are in favor of it. They want out of control health costs reined in. And whether or not you are paranoid about government control and takeover, there really is only one thing that can prevent corporate entities from abusing the people and the system, and that is a system of laws protecting the people from being fleeced. That means government oversight and involvement, whether you like it or not.
As I have mentioned before, numerous times as well, this is a system that exists already. Not only does it exist, but it has existed for a very long time, and is not merely in some experimental phase or anything. And it exists not just in one isolated place or country, but in many. In fact, in every single industrialized nation except the United States.
And guess what? Those countries are not socialist-fascist utopias, headed by modern day Hitlers or Stalins. In fact, those countries just might have more freedom, and even prosperity in some cases, than the United States presently has. The people there not only chose to implement those systems but, over the course if years and decades, have chosen to keep the existing systems, and often, improve upon them. in many cases, I have found that these people, foreigners to Americans, far too frequently are more familiar with the inadequacies and failures, and the myriad examples of blatant unfairness and exploitation that our system thrives upon, than Americans themselves tend to be.
I listed one example down below. It is something that I saw earlier, on Facebook, and it is what got me worked up enough to write all of this on this particular morning. I find it offensive that far too many Americans get all worked up and hot and bothered about the supposed exploitation that they figure Obamacare will mean for them, while they allow corporate exploitation not only to go on unchecked, but to almost be encouraged, by supporting yet more measures for tax breaks for corporate America and the very wealthiest of Americans, and also by supporting "deregulation" as a matter of course, in election after election (very recent trends in elections notwithstanding). Moreover, many Americans do not even realize that Obamacare is actually supposed to curb those abuses, and to protect the American people from healthcare costs that just keep spiraling out of control in this unfair system that we presently have. There are virtually no protective measures against excessive greed from powerful players in the field.
Sometimes, it seems that facts do not even matter to many people. People believe what they want to believe.
Still, perhaps naively, I believe that the best way to counter ignorance is by illuminating the facts. By allowing people to look at the facts, and make up their own mind. We need to educate ourselves on matters of great importance to our country, and I will take the liberty of assuming that most Americans would agree that few things are as important as healthcare.
So, here are a few more links to things that perhaps will help pierce the fog with the light of illuminating facts and observations, and that includes the bit already mentioned on the IV bags, which cost $1, and yet, sometimes, people are charged up to $800 for. If that is not being victimized by greedy exploitation, then I don't know what would be.
Obamacare is certainly not a perfect system, and I am not here holding it up as the ideal model for this country. Far from it, as already mentioned, I do not think it goes nearly far enough. But in this country, where fears and prejudices trump common sense way too often, this is apparently one step in the right direction, and so I do support it.
I encourage anyone and everyone to find out more for themselves. These links may help:
Obamacare and October 1st: Healthcare Triage #1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBr3fniyb4w
10 things Obamacare won’t tell you The health exchanges, central to the law, are also its biggest mystery
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/10-things-health-exchanges-wont-tell-you-2013-09-27?siteid=yhoof2
COST = $1.00 RETAIL = $800.00 BUT OUR HEALTHCARE / HEALTH INSURANCE / PREDATORY LAWYERS / MALPRACTICE INSURANCE SYSTEM DOESN'T NEED GOVERNMENT INTERFERENCE.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10200813243270010&set=a.1024030117622.5509.1131310367&type=1&theater
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