The Obamacare Train Wreck?

Dear Madame L,

I'm sure you've heard about all the problems people are having signing up for Obamacare, with the government websites not even working. How can you still support this idea?

Sincerely,

Less Government


Dear Less Government,

Madame L still supports the idea of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), or Obamacare, as many people call it; and she is positive that it is going to be successful and helpful for millions of Americans who currently don't have affordable health care insurance.

Madame L is sorry so many people are having problems with the website and the roll-out and agrees that the feds should have planned that whole thing better. But here's the thing:

When lying politicians (strong words, but true) will say or do anything for their own partisan and re-election and donor-pleasing purposes, Madame L doesn't see any reason to believe them.

And when supposed "news" organizations report "news" that isn't news at all, Madame L thinks they should be put in the public stockade and pelted with rotten eggs. Case in point:

If you watch Fox News, you may have seen three respectable middle-aged couples complain about how Obamacare is killing their little mom-and-pop businesses and so on. But a reporter on the other side of the political fence checked up with these people and found that the truth behind their stories was the complete opposite of what they were brought on TV to say:

One couple said they had to cut back on employees because of the act, even though it applies only to businesses with 50 or more employees, and they have only 4 employees. One said insurance under the ACA would be more expensive than their current insurance, but they hadn't even tried to compare prices; when the reporter did, he found they would save more than half under Obamacare what they were currently paying.

Madame L's point is proven again and again when politicians and their TV allies lie about the ACA. Please, Less Government, gather the facts from real news sources. And when you're receiving Social Security and Medicare benefits, remember that it's the federal government's social safety net that is providing those benefits, and remember that the same fol-de-rol was folled-and-rolled out when those programs were first introduced. Also, did you know that the Heritage Foundation was the group that first came up with the idea of Obamacare's individual mandate? You can find it right here.

Madame L must add one more thing: The childish tantrum thrown by the Republican Party over the ACA is shameful. Many people, not just federal employees but many others, suffered because they were furloughed, and the example which has been set of creating a crisis every few months and demanding concessions in return for normal governance is despicable.

Sincerely, angrily, and disappointedly,

Madame L