Sorry, GOP, You’re Wrong, AGAIN
The first arguments against the Affordable Care Act, aka ACA or “Obamacare” were that it would destroy both the economy and the American way of life. Think Ronald Reagan during the debate about Medicare when he said, “If we pass this we’ll live to tell our grandchildren about a time when America was free.”
More than six months after enactment, data suggest none of that happened. In fact, the US unemployment rate dropped to 6.3 percent — the lowest it has been since 2008. As far as freedom goes, people are more likely to quit jobs they dislike and start their own businesses when access to health insurance is not tied to work. This is good for freedom and the economy. Dane Strangler of the Kaufmann Foundation told NPR: “The ACA could help boost employment by creating somewhere around 25,000 additional new businesses each year. He’s not overly concerned that the employer mandate for companies with 50 or more workers might hurt entrepreneurship: Few companies ever get that big, he says.”
Once people started signing up for new coverage and the website problems were fixed (everyone acknowledges that it was a disaster), Republicans had issues with the numbers of newly-enrolled people. First, they said the administration would never meet its goal of seven million. When it did and when the number topped eight million, they said, most of those people haven’t paid so that number isn’t real. The House Committee on Energy and Commerce issued a report claiming only two-thirds of enrollees had paid their first month’s premium (the last step in signing up). According to a Bloomberg News piece today, insurance companies say between 83 and 90 percent of enrollees have paid. “What you have here is very solid first year enrollment, no matter how you slice it,” Dan Mendelson, president of Avalere Health, a Washington consulting firm, said in a phone interview. “This thing is, at this point, well entrenched.”
That last point is the real problem the right wing has with the law. It isn’t that it is bad for anyone; they worry it will be very good for their constituents who will never want to give it up. Why elected officials oppose programs that actively help the people they represent is a question only they can answer, though the GOP consistently votes to defund those very programs (food stamps, unemployment insurance, veterans’ benefits and retirement).
The GOP is wrong about this but they will never admit it.
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By: Alyson Chadwick
Alyson Chadwick is a political/news junkie and New Yorker transplanted to Washington, DC and currently working in Florida. Her career has included work on five presidential cycles, both sides of Capitol Hill, the 2012 Democratic Convention, Clinton White House, United Nations and multiple local and statewide campaigns. She is also a sad Met fan, which could be the most redundant sentence ever.
20 responses to Sorry, GOP, You’re Wrong, AGAIN
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KABoink_after_wingnut_hacker May 7th, 2014 at 20:47
This comes as no surprise given that conservatives have been on the wrong side of history since the early 1960’s……every single time!
A J Jackson Gum August 21st, 2014 at 09:46
So, you’re saying that the Civil Right’s Act was a mistake?
KABoink_after_wingnut_hacker August 21st, 2014 at 14:29
Conservatives fought against the Civil Rights Act tooth and nail. They were so angry when it passed, they all changed from Dixicrats to Republicans. And that’s where all the racist bigots remain to this day.
A J Jackson Gum August 21st, 2014 at 16:55
Another kool-aid drinker. PLEASE stop! The FACT AND TRUTH is Democrats fought the CRA “tooth and nail.
KABoink_after_wingnut_hacker August 22nd, 2014 at 07:53
I didn’t say Democrats….. I said conservatives fought it.
They all became republicans after LBJ signed the act and famously said; “this means we’ve lost the south for a generation”. That’s when all the racists and bigots jumped ship and joined the republican party.
KABoink_after_wingnut_hacker May 7th, 2014 at 20:47
This comes as no surprise given that conservatives have been on the wrong side of history since the early 1960’s……every single time!
A J Jackson Gum August 21st, 2014 at 09:46
So, you’re saying that the Civil Right’s Act was a mistake?
KABoink_after_wingnut_hacker August 21st, 2014 at 14:29
Conservatives fought against the Civil Rights Act tooth and nail. They were so angry when it passed, they all changed from Dixicrats to Republicans. And that’s where all the racist bigots remain to this day.
A J Jackson Gum August 21st, 2014 at 16:55
Another kool-aid drinker. PLEASE stop! The FACT AND TRUTH is Democrats fought the CRA “tooth and nail.
KABoink_after_wingnut_hacker August 22nd, 2014 at 07:53
I didn’t say Democrats….. I said conservatives fought it.
They all became republicans after LBJ signed the act and famously said; “this means we’ve lost the south for a generation”. That’s when all the racists and bigots jumped ship and joined the republican party.
William May 7th, 2014 at 22:48
Meanwhile the folks over at the fair and balanced network have actually turned a graph upside down to make the ACA look bad. Interestingly it will probably work on their viewers.
Obewon May 8th, 2014 at 00:37
Lovely graph! Especially its inverse direction to reality “up is down” Go ask Alice when she’s ten feet tall. And the Red Queen’s off with her head
Remember what the dormouse said…–White Rabbit. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WANNqr-vcx0&feature=kp
William May 7th, 2014 at 22:48
Meanwhile the folks over at the fair and balanced network have actually turned a graph upside down to make the ACA look bad. Interestingly it will probably work on their viewers.
Obewon May 8th, 2014 at 00:37
Lovely graph! Especially its inverse direction to reality “up is down” Go ask Alice when she’s ten feet tall. And the Red Queen’s off with her head
Remember what the dormouse said…–White Rabbit. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WANNqr-vcx0&feature=kp
Shades May 8th, 2014 at 08:41
Let me know when the GOP gets something right. That will be a story.
Shades May 8th, 2014 at 08:41
Let me know when the GOP gets something right. That will be a story.
A J Jackson Gum May 12th, 2014 at 06:51
Spin it however makes you feel good, Obamacare is a travesty. Unemployment dropped because CITIZENS stopped looking for work. Obamacare steals my tax money and covers ILLEGALS with it.
American travesty.
Alyson Chadwick August 21st, 2014 at 02:09
You won’t read this but, what color is the sky in your universe? None of that is true. NONE.
A J Jackson Gum May 12th, 2014 at 06:51
Spin it however makes you feel good, Obamacare is a travesty. Unemployment dropped because CITIZENS stopped looking for work. Obamacare steals my tax money and covers ILLEGALS with it.
American travesty.
Alyson Chadwick August 21st, 2014 at 02:09
You won’t read this but, what color is the sky in your universe? None of that is true. NONE.