Last Thursday ,as most of you know by now, The supreme court
,led by Chief Justice Roberts, ruled that the” Affordable Care Act” otherwise
known as Obama care, was not in violation of the Constitution because it was
considered a tax and that there was no restriction on the Federal government to
raise taxes as they see fit. These are
not my words these are the words of Judge Roberts. Since that time the Obama
administration has being trying to suggest that it is not a tax but rather a
penalty if you don’t have it. Those on the left have rejoiced over it and have
suggested it is now the time of making the rich pay their fair share and it’s
the end of corporate welfare. The right is saying that this indeed does violate
the constitution in that it gives to the Federal government powers that it was
never intended to have and that not only is a tax on the people but that there
are numerous taxes in amongst all this as well. Many people are under the
impression that somehow this is going to be free to them and that they are
finally going to get quality care, while still others predict rationing and low
quality run by a bunch of political hacks that will care more for your money
than your health. I have read about and talked to some who own small businesses
and they don’t see any way that they are going to hire anyone because it’s
going to cost them too much with the mandates and then I have heard that anyone
with less than 50 employees will be exempt. I have heard that large
corporations are finally going to be pushed into paying for quality insurance
at the same time hearing that many of those big corporations have already been
approved to be exempt.
What a mess. The real problem that I see, for the moment, is
that most people have not read any of it , never mind all of it, and they , for
the most part, go with whatever sound bite fits the description that suits them
the most and then declare that these talking points is what it’s all about.
I am personally against any government mandate that tells me
that I have to by a product or a service that I don’t need or want or be taxed
for it because I don’t want it. I want less government in my personal life, not
more. I also take issue that the federal government can now tax me, according
to Roberts, in any way that they want or force me to buy a product or
service that I don’t want as long as the penalty for not having it is
considered a tax, this idea being based again on Judge Roberts having asserted that
there is nothing restricting the government from taxing us on any grounds. Having
expressed that opinion I have been informed that I must not care about poor and
sick people that have no insurance. I have also been informed that this is
where the rich start to pay their fair share and therefore, by definition, I am
for the rich not paying their fair share. If that’s what you’re thinking then
you are missing the point.
Let’s speak of the last part first. What do you consider to
be “rich”? What is the bench mark amount of money that you can make to be
considered rich? It seems to me that it’s a matter of a point of view. I know
that I don’t fit into that category and frankly I don’t know anyone personally
that does. If then you are talking about people who are billionaires or
millionaires, this bill is not designed to affect them. They are not going to
be hit with fines and taxes because they likely already have good quality
insurance and, I might add, congress is exempt from this law and many of the
larger corporations have already received exemptions. Do you really think that
some of the richest people in America, those in congress, backed by big
corporations, are going to pass a bill that will negatively affect them and
their bottom line? This will do little to them. Some of the smaller
corporations, if they are forced into it, which there are still many companies
that will be, will simply either pay the fine, lay people off or not hire to
make up for the extra costs and if they don’t do any of that you can still bet
on the price of their products to go up as a result. This is simple economic
math, if it costs more to produce, it will cost more to the customer. So in the
end it will not be the rich who pay for it, it will be their employees and you
and I in higher costs of everything.
To the first point, that somehow I don’t care about the poor
and sick that do not have any health care, I have several friends who are in
tough shape, physically speaking, and I haven’t been well either for the past
10 years, so it’s a little strange for anyone to suggest that I don’t care. My family
and I use the VA system, my wife and children uses Champ VA and I use the VA
its self for medical. Do you know why we use this? Not because it’s a good
program but because I can’t afford to buy regular insurance. So I get it. I
really do. Someone recently suggested to me that this law would put in place a
restriction on how much premiums would cost yet I read this morning that
insurance premiums have gone up over 7% during the past year and the prediction
is that it is going to go higher. Where is that restriction? What is really
going to stop them for continuously raising the prices? If I can’t afford it
now, how am I or anyone else in our position going to pay for it later? Forcing
me to buy it isn’t going to make the money magically appear. I am not at the
poverty level anymore, though I am well below that 400% limit, and so it can be
argued that at least I qualify for a discounted rate ,if not free, but is it
right for you to be taxed higher to cover my care? It would be one thing if you
voluntarily did it but to force people to pay for it is morally and ethically
wrong.
One of the things that I have continuously heard in this
debate is how the poor don’t have access to health care. This is a bit of a
puzzle for me. As many of you know, I have lived in many different places in
the country and one of the things that I noticed was that in most communities
there are health clinics and hospitals that offer reduced rates for low income
families. Probably the best example I can remember is when my family and I live
in Pascoag RI. Their unemployment rate was so high, and still is as far as I
know, that local businesses started a fund for a clinic, both medical and
dental, so that those who were unemployed or had no insurance could get the
care that they need. It worked well. We used it. This should be the model for
the country, not adding taxes or more financial burdens to people.
You see my biggest problem with this is the idea that once
again we have opted out of taking care of one another for another government
intrusion program. It used to be that communities took care of each other.
Communities used to come together to help those in need in their own towns and
neighborhoods and doctors still made house calls thus negating hospitals unless
it was beyond their ability to heal. In my humble opinion, sometimes the old
ways are the better ways.
The bottom line is simply this: First the rich aren’t going
to be the ones truly hurt by the economics of funding this, we are. Second this
is little more than a overreaching of the federal government into areas of our
lives that the founders of the Constitution never intended. They understood tyranny;
they understood that it was proper and right to limit the federal government,
which is why they wrote the Declaration of Independence with such precise
wording, as well as the Constitution, to make it very clear that the federal
government has severe limits on what it does. They perhaps could not have
envisioned what we are today as a nation, but they understood clearly, and
history bears them out, that when a central government takes control of everything you end with either
tyranny or bloodshed and most times both.
Disagree with me if you like; call me a fool if you
wish. Truly I hope I can look back at
this 10 years from now and laugh at my own ignorance and concern but I don’t
think that’s going to be the case but then again that’s just me being Simple
Minded.
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