CRS
Chandler, Arizona, United States

There's an old saying. If you don't want someone to join a crowd, you ask them, "If everyone were jumping off of a cliff, would you?" Well, I have. So my answer would be "Yes". True story.
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You Can Tell Republicans Are Bullshitting About Health Care Because Their Arguments Keep Changing

Friday, August 21, 2009

this entry brought to you by lcd soundsystem, "get innocuous"





When the country was leading up to the war in Iraq, people who were paying attention had reason to be doubtful: their argument for doing it kept changing. First we were going in to rid Iraq of weapons of mass destruction. Then came in the tie-in with Al Qaeda, saying Saddam financed 9/11. Then we were rescuing the Iraqi people from tyranny and oppression.

In the lead-in to Health Care Reform, the same thing is happening. Their arguments and talking points keep changing, literally from week to week.

Argument: I don't want some government beurocrat being between me and my doctor!

You already have some beurocrat between you and your doctor, except he works for a for-profit company. And as soon as you actually get sick, he will pore over your records to find any reason to deny you.

I went to go have a test once that I needed to diagnose some severe pain I was having. The receptionist said that they didn't take my insurance, but that they would start carrying it tomorrow, and asked if I wanted to come back. Well, for one thing, I was in severe pain, so there was no way I was going to wait a day. For another, I was actually insured through my own insurance, as well as through my wife's, so I didn't think it would be a big deal. I used my wife's insurance.

...Her insurance denied me because I was already insured with somebody else. My insurance denied me because I didn't write them down as insurance, and also, they weren't being accepted there at that date. Literally, I was covered twice and got denied both times.

A government beurocrat, who doesn't have "profit" as a fire burning him for motivation, would have no reason to deny me or anyone else coverage for something legitimately needed.

Argument: Obama will refuse to let me smoke or eat junk food!

Insurance companies are already not covering people who are smokers or are obese, or won't cover treatments having to do with those things if you were already a smoker/obese when you signed up.

Argument: I don't want America's health care to be for everyone! That's socialism! I'm terrified of socialism!

We already have socialized medicine, in the form of Medicare and the veteran's benefits, and those are two of the most successful programs in America, and most people in it are extremely happy with it.

Argument: But Medicare is going broke!

The only reason Medicare is going "broke" is because the Bush administration allocated funds from it to support two wars. If we re-allocate that money to the way it was before, things will be fine.

What is going broke is our current health care system, where we put in more money than any other country, yet we deny more and more people insurance every single day. This is unsustainable.

Argument: They will have to raise your taxes to pay for universal health care!

 They won't be raising your taxes, only the taxes of the very, very rich, and only on money gained after a million dollars. For example, if you currently make 1 million dollars, you will not owe 25,000 dollars. If you make 1 million and one dollar, you will owe 2.5 cents on that dollar made over 1 million.

Argument: Universal Health Care will create long lines just to see a doctor!

 We already have long lines just to see a doctor. I passed a kidney stone recently, and days later I was still feeling pain, and I was worried my kidneys might be infected. The urologist scheduled me an appointment for two weeks later, informing me that if things get worse, I should go to the emergency room. There is a reason people go to the emergency room for colds. When you call your doctor to see him, he often schedules you for days later; the emergency room allows you to be seen right now. Sure, it might be a few hours in the waiting room, but a few hours is nothing compared to the days you might have to wait to see your doctor, and this does nothing to mention of the completely uninsured Americans who have no doctors to call. And the emergency room is universally acknowledged as the most expensive, most wasteful way to see a doctor.

Also, if you want to talk about long lines, talk to anyone waiting for organ transplants that aren't in immediate danger of dying.

Argument: If the government makes a universal health care system, health insurance companies won't be able to keep up!

 You mean in a free market, with a few giants that control all of the health insurance business to themselves in a race to see who can deny you coverage first, these companies, with billionaire geniuses at the helm who have created monolithic, cut-throat companies, with hundreds of egg-heads who do nothing but sit around and figure out ways of making higher profit margins, and they can't figure out a way to make their service better? Well then let them perish. Isn't that capitalism?

You mean to tell me that if UPS couldn't keep up with the postal service, it was the post office's fault?

Argument: If the government creates government health care, they will have death panels that will pull the plug on Grandma or Sarah Palin's down syndrome trophy-- excuse me, child-- based on somebody's subjective opinion on whether they're worth it or not.

 We already have death panels, they just aren't motivated by age, they are motivated by money. I know a woman, she should be 27 by now, who got spinal cancer when she was 16. This was before she started working, and when her mom was working a low-paying job that didn't offer health benefits, and now no insurance company will cover her because she has a pre-existing condition. After much searching she was finally able to get insured by a company that will cover things other than her spinal cancer, so if she gets in a car accident she at least won't have to worry about that. When she dies from cancer however, it will be because of a "death panel" who decided she wasn't worth covering.

Plus, this accusation is obviously bogus on its face. What are you, some sort of fucking idiot?

Argument: Obama is black, and he's a reverse racist, and this is just reparations for slavery, even though I am the one, in reality, who is racist! Democrats just want to abort babies and take away my guns! Mexicans are taking over the country! I'm a selfish asshole and I don't care about other people's problems so long as it doesn't effect me! My invisible friend who doesn't exist and, therefore, just represents all the things about me I'd like him to represent, says health care is evil!

 Well, at least you're finally being honest. Doesn't that make you feel better about yourself? That you can finally admit the truth?
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with love from CRS @ 8:20 AM 

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