Political Discussions

I was going to do a book write-up today about a book that I just finished.  I’m not in much of a mood to do that right now, even though it was a very good book!  I’ll probably write the review tomorrow.  The reason that I’m not in a mood to write it right now is that I am recovering from something.  This morning, I ventured into territory that I have not ventured into for a long time: I entered into a political discussion.

The topic was the recent Supreme Court decision about Hobby Lobby.  Then it got into Obamacare.  There are some anti-Obamacare arguments with which I sympathize.  Who am I to argue against people’s experiences—-people who say that their hours are getting cut, or that they have to pay higher premiums, or that their insurance is not as good now as it was before?  Obamacare looks great on paper: the government forbids health insurance companies from turning away people with pre-existing conditions, has a health insurance mandate to bring money into the health insurance system (preventing premiums from shyrocketing due to the people with pre-existing conditions) and to keep people from using the emergency room without health insurance (which drives up costs), and provides subsidies based on income.  Some of that is working out.  Other parts aren’t.  One guy was telling me about loopholes to the whole pre-existing condition part.  Another was saying that people without insurance still use emergency rooms.  Another was saying that some people aren’t getting health insurance.

What can I say?  I hope it works out?  Something had to be done.  I hope that Obamacare works out.  I cannot ask people to share my optimism or faith, though, since they concern a reality not yet seen.

I can sympathize with these arguments, but the arguments against an entitlement mentality or the government doing anything at all get on my nerves.  Some conservatives seem not to grasp that there are economically vulnerable people out there: that not everyone can change jobs when dissatisfied, or afford certain forms of health care.  I wonder what exactly their reality is.  Some of them complain about becoming poorer and poorer due to rising health care premiums and copays, so they obviously experience the harsh realities of real life.  They are not multimillionaires in some air-conditioned mansion, oblivious to the struggles of the working class.

Political discussions.  I sometimes feel like I have to say something.  Then I find that I am a bit over my head.  Yet, that something still needed to be said!