But should any of this come as a big surprise? After all, the Affordable Care Act was
rushed through Congress and sold to us on a lie. If you remember, we were told that it was not a tax. However, the main focus by opponents of the bill, was whether or not it was actually constitutional. When it eventually made it's way to the Supreme Court, to the Republican's dismay, it was deemed to be constitutional. Why? Because it was TAX!! So, Obamacare staggered on......
And as if that wasn't hard enough to absorb, the President told us time after time that if you like your plan, you can keep it. To millions of Americans, that turned out to be another lie. Are you sensing a pattern here?
rushed through Congress and sold to us on a lie. If you remember, we were told that it was not a tax. However, the main focus by opponents of the bill, was whether or not it was actually constitutional. When it eventually made it's way to the Supreme Court, to the Republican's dismay, it was deemed to be constitutional. Why? Because it was TAX!! So, Obamacare staggered on......
And as if that wasn't hard enough to absorb, the President told us time after time that if you like your plan, you can keep it. To millions of Americans, that turned out to be another lie. Are you sensing a pattern here?
Somewhat related, we were also told that 30 million of currently uninsured individuals would be covered under Obamacare. Many of these folks would receive free medical services and Obama promised that it "wouldn't add a dime to our deficit". Was this also a lie? Technically, no. You see, as people are kicked off of their current plans and forced into the Obamacare exchanges, they'll likely pay higher rates for coverage that they don't really need. The idea being that the overcharge would subsidize the free services. In other words, the people who could afford to pay for insurance would cover the people who could not afford it. So, per se, it would not add to the deficit. But it would likely add to cost of many of our insurance plans.
But while all of this was being digested, something unexpected happened......
But while all of this was being digested, something unexpected happened......
As people started to get cancellation letters from their insurance companies, they got a little upset. As a result, they contacted their representatives and voiced their outrage. Since many Congressional Democrats carried the President's water on the Obamacare campaign, they had some serious explaining to do.
In a strange turn of events, Obama is now feeling pressure by members of his own party to somehow put a positive spin on this. Obama is between a rock and a hard place right now. His approval rating is at an all-time low and the midterm elections are right around the corner. Today, Senate Democrats outnumber Republicans 53-45 (2 Senators are Independent). Since there are over 30 seats up for re-election, all of this could have a major impact in 2014.
Yesterday, a house bill was passed that would not only allow insurers to offer policies on the individual market, but they would also be allowed to sell policies to new customers. The bill, sponsored by Republican Fred Upton of Michigan, was passed 261-157 with 39 Democrats voting in favor. This is an indication that at least some Democrats are prepared to jump ship on Obama to save their own asses back home. However, it is assumed that if the bill somehow makes it through the Senate and onto to the President's desk, Obama will veto it.*
Here's the thing with politics.... Everyone has their reasons for who or what they believe in. However, when you start hitting people in the wallet, they take it personal. And more precisely, when people are negatively impacted by a lie(s), especially in the pocket book, it becomes a major challenge to win back their trust and confidence. That will be Obama's biggest hurdle in the upcoming months. He will have to convince Americans that what we've experienced in the initial weeks are only minor "bugs" that will eventually work themselves out. At this point, it appears that it will be a hard sell....
In spite of everything I've mention above, here is my biggest problem. The President claimed that he wasn't aware of the problems leading up to the website debacle. This seems hard for me to believe considering that this is his signature piece of legislation. How could he have not been informed of any potential problems? Additional, when he continuously promised that everyone would be able to keep their current insurance plan, did he simply not know that millions of people would be dropped? If so, in hindsight, it seems irresponsible that he would push a bill that he didn't even understand. If he did know about all of this, then there's no other explanation other than he lied. If that's the case, he didn't think people would react when they got the cancellation letters from their insurance companies?
Am I the only one who thinks that Obamacare was rolled out after the 2012 elections for a reason?
I read the news reports (from both liberal and conservative sources) and try to make sense out of all of it. I certainly don't claim to fully understand it. But, from what I've seen since it's roll-out, it appears that the people who gave us Obamacare don't quite understand it either.....
Yesterday, a house bill was passed that would not only allow insurers to offer policies on the individual market, but they would also be allowed to sell policies to new customers. The bill, sponsored by Republican Fred Upton of Michigan, was passed 261-157 with 39 Democrats voting in favor. This is an indication that at least some Democrats are prepared to jump ship on Obama to save their own asses back home. However, it is assumed that if the bill somehow makes it through the Senate and onto to the President's desk, Obama will veto it.*
Here's the thing with politics.... Everyone has their reasons for who or what they believe in. However, when you start hitting people in the wallet, they take it personal. And more precisely, when people are negatively impacted by a lie(s), especially in the pocket book, it becomes a major challenge to win back their trust and confidence. That will be Obama's biggest hurdle in the upcoming months. He will have to convince Americans that what we've experienced in the initial weeks are only minor "bugs" that will eventually work themselves out. At this point, it appears that it will be a hard sell....
In spite of everything I've mention above, here is my biggest problem. The President claimed that he wasn't aware of the problems leading up to the website debacle. This seems hard for me to believe considering that this is his signature piece of legislation. How could he have not been informed of any potential problems? Additional, when he continuously promised that everyone would be able to keep their current insurance plan, did he simply not know that millions of people would be dropped? If so, in hindsight, it seems irresponsible that he would push a bill that he didn't even understand. If he did know about all of this, then there's no other explanation other than he lied. If that's the case, he didn't think people would react when they got the cancellation letters from their insurance companies?
Am I the only one who thinks that Obamacare was rolled out after the 2012 elections for a reason?
I read the news reports (from both liberal and conservative sources) and try to make sense out of all of it. I certainly don't claim to fully understand it. But, from what I've seen since it's roll-out, it appears that the people who gave us Obamacare don't quite understand it either.....
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