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On This Issue, the Media is a Subsidiary of the Republican
Party
Let’s play
pretend. Suppose that you have a car
on lease, and that the leasing company comes to you and say you can no longer
have that lease, but you will be getting a newer and better car with lower
lease payments. Are you outraged? Are you injured? Is this a terrible thing? Obviously not.
But this is what is
happening with health care reform.
Apparently millions of people are getting their old plans terminated
because they do not conform to the new law, but they will be replaced by better
plans at a lower cost or better plans with a subsidy. Outrageous?
Well no, but that is what one would think if one listened to and
believed the national press.
Admittedly the Obama
Administration has done a terrible job on communicating and implementing
health care reform. But if the press
were truly honest, intelligent and dedicated to presenting the truth they would
be highlighting the tremendous improvement in health care coverage. But of course that would make them
susceptible to charges of using the truth to destroy conservatives.
All-out opposition to the ACA has created a self-fulfilling prophecy.
ReplyDeleteOpponents of healthcare reform say that it will cause Americans to end up with less insurance or more expensive insurance. A theme is created and repeated in the media.
The ACA eliminates plans that fail to serve the basic purpose of healthcare insurance: preventing individuals from incurring unaffordable medical expenses, which are ultimately borne by other healthcare consumers.
Relying on the theme created by Conservatives, Americans who lose their insurance in this manner and are offered new plans see this as an affront rather than an opportunity.
Conservatives proclaim that they were correct, and that the ACA worsened Americans' healthcare coverage.
But this is all standard operating procedure for Conservatives, who oppose all forms of regulation regardless of the incalculable damage caused by under-regulation. What is astonishing is the utter incompetence displayed by the Obama administration on the ACA ever since the push to enact it began. Obama has never once issued a cogent and accurate explanation of how the ACA will affect and improve the lives of ordinary Americans. He has never once explained why it is economically advantageous for more Americans to be insured. He has never once explained that having millions of uninsured or underinsured Americans is lunacy, not freedom. When will he learn that no one will champion his cause for him; he needs to do it himself?
Hola TDPE! While I agree with your comments RM, why do we have for profit media in 2013 that has totally abrogated their responsibilty to tell us the truth? We're screwed in any way you look at it! It makes me so sick which is why I don't watch the for profit media. May the Gawds forgive us us for our myopic, selfish, quarterly profit driven model of driving news coverage. In short, until something changes, we're just screwed!
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