Just a few things as I see them, since you are inviting commentary.
As the bill currently stands, people would be REQUIRED to purchase the government option health care with a fine of UP TO $3600 for not doing so, oh, and you'd have to buy it anyway... once you got done paying the fine. This is supposedly "offset" by the up to $6000 tax credit for those making less than $60,000, which are, presumably, the people who can't currently afford insurance. No one has clarified exactly WHERE that tax credit is supposed to come from, either.
The number of uninsured in this country is rather dishonest to begin with. At least 15% of those uninsured are those who CHOOSE not to purchase insurance for whatever reason. Either they: are wealthy enough to pay out of pocket for whatever they require only when they require it, or they choose to believe that since they have no pre-existing conditions they don't need it (or would rather have the brand new shiny iPod.) Its not real bright, but its their perogative and no one should tell them they HAVE to buy into this program if they don't want to.
Also, there is a whole great big blurry line being argued here regarding health CARE vs. health INSURANCE. There is no denial of health CARE to anyone who requires it. It is a legal requirement of public hospitals to treat those in need of health care. Now, you may have to wait your turn if you're not bleeding out of every orifice, but you WILL be treated regardless of lack of insurance, immigration status, and/or ability to pay.
The immigrant issue is a whole confusing, convoluted, and very touchy issue in and of itself. You make a very good point that some in this argument fail to realize and that is that illegal immigrants are, in fact, a drain when they take advantage of the system, but don't contribute to it (ie, health care, public education, etc.) So, what do you do about it?
No one really has a good solution to that problem, at least none that aren't being viewed as "barbaric" such as closing the borders, or actually enforcing immigration policy of deporting those who are caught here when they have violated the law. In some cases, it is city/county policy to ACTIVELY deny cooperation to border patrol and immigration services when looking for illegals. For instance, the cities of LA and SF have made it governmental policy to deny law enforcement cooperation to any federal authorities looking to crack down on illegal immigration or to even investigate questions of illegal immigration. Of course, they are in violation of federal law, which in this case, trumps the hell out of city and state laws since immigration is the purview of the federal government and states don't actually have the right to determine how they decide to handle issues of immigration. But, then again, no one is enforcing THAT either.
I don't know the answers to any of these questions, but I'm not real confident than the current administration does, either. Frankly, I'd rather they concentrate on things like fixing the economy they've run into the ground with rampant pork-filled, lobbyist-fueled spending we can't afford, increasing unemployment, damaging domestic economic policies like cap-and-trade and fix our relationships with the allies they've managed to piss off in the last 6 months before they even attempt to tackle something like health care.
Personally, I'm opposed as hell to Obamacare for my own raft of reasons I won't get into.
And I seem to have hijacked your lj..... sorry! *slinks off back under her rock*
no subject
As the bill currently stands, people would be REQUIRED to purchase the government option health care with a fine of UP TO $3600 for not doing so, oh, and you'd have to buy it anyway... once you got done paying the fine. This is supposedly "offset" by the up to $6000 tax credit for those making less than $60,000, which are, presumably, the people who can't currently afford insurance. No one has clarified exactly WHERE that tax credit is supposed to come from, either.
The number of uninsured in this country is rather dishonest to begin with. At least 15% of those uninsured are those who CHOOSE not to purchase insurance for whatever reason. Either they: are wealthy enough to pay out of pocket for whatever they require only when they require it, or they choose to believe that since they have no pre-existing conditions they don't need it (or would rather have the brand new shiny iPod.) Its not real bright, but its their perogative and no one should tell them they HAVE to buy into this program if they don't want to.
Also, there is a whole great big blurry line being argued here regarding health CARE vs. health INSURANCE. There is no denial of health CARE to anyone who requires it. It is a legal requirement of public hospitals to treat those in need of health care. Now, you may have to wait your turn if you're not bleeding out of every orifice, but you WILL be treated regardless of lack of insurance, immigration status, and/or ability to pay.
The immigrant issue is a whole confusing, convoluted, and very touchy issue in and of itself. You make a very good point that some in this argument fail to realize and that is that illegal immigrants are, in fact, a drain when they take advantage of the system, but don't contribute to it (ie, health care, public education, etc.) So, what do you do about it?
No one really has a good solution to that problem, at least none that aren't being viewed as "barbaric" such as closing the borders, or actually enforcing immigration policy of deporting those who are caught here when they have violated the law. In some cases, it is city/county policy to ACTIVELY deny cooperation to border patrol and immigration services when looking for illegals. For instance, the cities of LA and SF have made it governmental policy to deny law enforcement cooperation to any federal authorities looking to crack down on illegal immigration or to even investigate questions of illegal immigration. Of course, they are in violation of federal law, which in this case, trumps the hell out of city and state laws since immigration is the purview of the federal government and states don't actually have the right to determine how they decide to handle issues of immigration. But, then again, no one is enforcing THAT either.
I don't know the answers to any of these questions, but I'm not real confident than the current administration does, either. Frankly, I'd rather they concentrate on things like fixing the economy they've run into the ground with rampant pork-filled, lobbyist-fueled spending we can't afford, increasing unemployment, damaging domestic economic policies like cap-and-trade and fix our relationships with the allies they've managed to piss off in the last 6 months before they even attempt to tackle something like health care.
Personally, I'm opposed as hell to Obamacare for my own raft of reasons I won't get into.
And I seem to have hijacked your lj..... sorry! *slinks off back under her rock*
yeah, I'm pretty passionate about this issue....