General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsMy A-political hubby asked tonight "why would anyone be against everyone having health care"
A great question. Why are the repukes and the loonie tea-baggers against health care for all?
Our sister-in-law is from Austrailia and she has told us about their health care system and it sounds great. She can't understand all the crap we go through here.
Tuesday Afternoon
(56,912 posts)Quartermass
(457 posts)I don't like the idea of having it mandatory, and fining people who cant afford it, and forcing people to pay for it who will never benefit from the program. Not to mention that 26 states sued because they thought it would be unconstitutional.
It makes no sense to fine people who can't afford it because they can't pay the fine either. That kind of thing will put undue hardship on people who are already having a lot of trouble making ends meet. It also will turn some people into criminals who don't deserve to be criminals simply because they can't pay for it.
So, until they fix these problems, I will not support it.
Otherwise, I have no other problems with the government offering health care for people.
dflprincess
(28,071 posts)with access to health care - which is what we need.
More Americans are getting stuck paying for insurance policies that have out of pocket expenses that are so high they can't afford to use them. Nothing in the Profit Protection Act changes that.
sad sally
(2,627 posts)joshcryer
(62,265 posts)In large part they are not affected greatly by it, there are some, but for most of the detractors it doesn't matter if it exists or not, because they're "already covered." It doesn't help that the elites misinform the population about it and that the population is afraid of what it means, without fully understanding it.
tblue
(16,350 posts)Everything is politics. Absolutely everything. Potholes and food safety and your mortgage/lease and your marriage and any safety warning on anything--these are all choices made by somebody who is connected to politics. If he cares about anything, he's not apolitical.
And it sounds like he's got good common sense. Good for him! Tell him we need fair minded people like him lending their voices.
limpyhobbler
(8,244 posts)lonestarnot
(77,097 posts)CBHagman
(16,980 posts)Including but not limited to...
...a belief that health care is a privilege (As Rep. Zach Wamp put it in an interview a couple of years back) rather than a right.
...reliance on the market to set prices.
...tendency to blame people for their misfortunes. I can't quite remember the Christopher Hitchens quote, but basically the dark side of the American can-do spirit is a belief that if things go wrong, it's your fault.
After several in the audience at one of the GOP debates cheered the prospect of an uninsured man dying, a doctor told me I had to understand that that was all about showing contempt for someone who didn't take responsibility (in this case, for not buying insurance ahead of time).
...the money and organization summoned up by those who oppose any kind of change/reform. Have a look at One Nation, Uninsured.
...a hybrid system in which your health care plan depends on your age, military status, employment, etc. People might not bother worrying about coverage until they confront a problem.
...misinformation and hysteria in the media. Remember the claims about "death panels"?
...jingoism. Any time there's a GOP debate, it seems to me at least one of the candidates starts bashing the Europeans or the Canadians and their social programs, including health care arrangements.
...ignorance.
...misanthropy.
global1
(25,219 posts)CBHagman
(16,980 posts)...but here in the States people get away with presenting the wrong models and analogies for basic needs such as health care. They buy into the scare tactics too.
We need to sway public opinion, and it's too rare that an anchor (such as one on MSNBC did with Zach Wamp) confronts the "Health care is a privilege" shtick.
saras
(6,670 posts)Justine, Juliette, and 120 Days of Sodom are good starting places.