He is relevant to this discussion in that he did nothing to assist people in need of affordable insurance, and did nothing for health care in this country (except to put plenty of service members in need of a doctors care). Yet the GOP, Tea Party, Conservative element (everywhere else and on this board) are all saying how wrong Obamacare is. I find this stunning. If it were up to you guys (ooops, there I go again), absolutely nothing would be happening for the healthcare crisis on the US. Nothing. You don't have a better way. You have no way, and you seem to be fine with it.
Either come up with a better plan and show us what it is.....or shut the fuck up.
A combination of increased competition, encouragement of HSA HDHP, reform of medical malpractice/liability torts, transparency in medical cost, a restructuring of medicaid for low-income assistance, and the encouragement of pooling would be a good start.
There have been several proposed alternatives that don't require a federal individual mandate, you just haven't paid attention to them, or had a rational thought about their merits because you don't care to hear any other opinion than your own. There are several, reasonable alternatives that have been floated about in the last 6 months, you just refuse to give them any attention because they are sponsored by people who think differently than you do. I could post them, but you wouldn't read them anyhow, so I won't.
I understand that this issue apparently hits close to home for you, but "debating" with such emotion, as you do, is dangerous. Getting something done simply for the sake of it is ignorant. It creates such a short-sighted attitude that you may be overlooking an option that serves your interests just as well as, or even better than the current option. I understand that you have some anger over this, and believe it or not, I can sympathize with you. Working in the healthcare industry, I see people on a daily basis that struggle with this exact issue. I firmly believe that people should have easier, and cheaper access to affordable healthcare, I just disagree with the notion that people should be
made to purchase health insurance if they don't want it, as well as having to pay higher taxes to pay for someone else's care. Why should I pay higher taxes because Joe Whoever drank 2 liters of vodka a day and now requires dialysis 3 times a week? Or because Bill Whatshisname went on a bender and became paralyzed when he crashed his car into a school bus full of 6 year-olds on his way to score more crank and now needs 24 hour medical care?
Easier access, more affordable, of course. But personal responsibility should play a role, and personal responsibility, for me at least, doesn't involve chipping in to cover the healthcare costs of degenerates, or even upstanding people that I don't know, or care about.
Like I said before, I'm glad people like you are in the minority on this. Not on this board, but in the general public, more people disagree with you than agree. That's a fact.
