Okay, Ill admit it. Im about to rant. Apologies in advance. I was forwarded an essay written by one Daniel Bongino, an obviously hard-working fellow who, while riding the train home from work one day, became completely exasperated at an article in a left-leaning newspaper touting as a positive thing the Congressional Budget Offices observation that Obamacare would cost the nation 2 million jobs (which, by the way, reputable analysts and media dispute). The thesis of Mr. Bonginos piece is that we on the Left are celebrating the ACA because it frees people from “job lock” -- that pernicious state of affairs where one must stay at a job only for the health insurance -- and now we are likely to become of nation of sloths and a culture which does not appreciate the value of sacrifice and hard work because we are no longer “forced” to stay at our jobs. “A warning friends,” ominously intones Mr. Bongino. “Allow the Left to continue to spew this nonsense and diminish the value of a hard days work and sacrifice and a better tomorrow will be nothing but a fairy tale.” Do tell. I say that this is a canard, a complete misinterpretation of the CBO report and a fallacious argument built on a bunch of flag-waving, rhetorical nonsense. But lets get to how I really feel... The ACA was a well-intended, but ultimately flawed piece of legislation. But lets recall its genesis. The idea for this structure came from the Right (the Heritage Foundation, if I recall correctly) as a way of, among other things, protecting the interests of the health insurance lobby. It is not universal health care, which is what true reform should have been. In my perfect world, Medicare would have been extended to all, a true single-payer system. There is simply no reason in the world why, in America, people should die because they cannot afford proper medical care, or be bankrupted by medical bills. And dont give me this nonsense about socialism and the proper role of government when the government spends BILLIONS subsidizing corporate agriculture, the oil industry and professional sports and has a tax code which is so rigged that what is left of the middle class pays a larger percentage of their income in taxes while people with substantially more wealth pay a significantly lower percentage of theirs. Every. Single. Year. As to the article itself, this isnt about people being lazy (oh, how I love these talking points) and wanting the government to subsidize them. What this is, I think, is about opportunity and quality of life. What is so American about being conscripted into a job one hates just so one can have health insurance? Let me tell you, I was there once and it wasnt pretty. Were supposed to encourage this as a society because life is hard and thats just the way it is? Nonsense. Someone who otherwise couldnt leave a job and pursue a dream (this is America, after all) because of health insurance can now start a business, go back to school and yes, perish the thought, maybe stop working and stay home with their children because now they have that option where they didnt before (and, incidentally, vacate a job for someone that doesnt have one). Thats not the governments place, you say? Well, then, whose is it? Private industry whose ONLY motivation is profit, shareholder value and squeezing as much out of their workforce as humanely (and inhumanely) possible? Given the druthers of the Right, wed be back to sweatshops and gruel. No, I dont think so. The problem with the solution” of leaving these issues to private enterprise versus the goodwill of the government is that the game is rigged. If you do not see this, then youre not looking. It is NOT a level playing field when 400 people control over half the wealth in the country. It is NOT a level playing field when private industry cares only about shareholder value and will not pay its employees a living wage so that they must hold down two and three jobs just to pay the rent and put food in their childrens bellies. It is NOT a level playing field when the tax code is designed to let the wealthy get wealthier while the burden falls on others less well-situated to bear it. What happened to fair play, altruism and justice that were supposed to be the hallmarks of America? Where is the morality of a society that continuously victimizes its most vulnerable citizens? And when the government steps in to do what, in my judgment, is consistent with what is right and just and fair and yes, morally imperative, why does the Right always reduce it to the canard that the Left is looking only to give handouts, and that people are lazy cheaters who are trying to game the system? I find it hard to understand how anyone, especially people of faith, can condone and support the policies of the Right and the drivel that this Daniel Bongino fellow wrote. No, Americans arent lazy or greedy or looking to evade work or responsibility. Were all just looking for a decent quality of life with some opportunity and decent, affordable health care that doesnt put us in the poorhouse. Why is that a problem for so many people?!?! Ok. I am now done ranting. For now.
Posted on: Mon, 10 Feb 2014 21:24:58 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015