Has Obamacare Turned Voters Against Sharing the Wealth?

[Obiwan]

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/04/1...ers-against-sharing-the-wealth.html?referrer=
With the advent of the Affordable Care Act, the share of Americans convinced that health care is a right shrank from a majority to a minority.

This shift in public opinion is a major victory for the Republican Party. It is part of a larger trend: a steady decline in support for redistributive government policies. Emmanuel Saez, an economics professor at Berkeley and one of the nation’s premier experts on inequality, is a co-author of a study that confirms this trend, which has been developing over the last four decades. A separate study, “The Structure of Inequality and Americans’ Attitudes Toward Redistribution,” found that as inequality increases, so does ideological conservatism in the electorate.

The erosion of the belief in health care as a government-protected right is perhaps the most dramatic reflection of these trends. In 2006, by a margin of more than two to one, 69-28, those surveyed by Gallup said that the federal government should guarantee health care coverage for all citizens of the United States. By late 2014, however, Gallup found that this percentage had fallen 24 points to 45 percent, while the percentage of respondents who said health care is not a federal responsibility nearly doubled to 52 percent.

 

[Sonny Clark]

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/04/1...ers-against-sharing-the-wealth.html?referrer=
With the advent of the Affordable Care Act, the share of Americans convinced that health care is a right shrank from a majority to a minority.

This shift in public opinion is a major victory for the Republican Party. It is part of a larger trend: a steady decline in support for redistributive government policies. Emmanuel Saez, an economics professor at Berkeley and one of the nation’s premier experts on inequality, is a co-author of a study that confirms this trend, which has been developing over the last four decades. A separate study, “The Structure of Inequality and Americans’ Attitudes Toward Redistribution,” found that as inequality increases, so does ideological conservatism in the electorate.

The erosion of the belief in health care as a government-protected right is perhaps the most dramatic reflection of these trends. In 2006, by a margin of more than two to one, 69-28, those surveyed by Gallup said that the federal government should guarantee health care coverage for all citizens of the United States. By late 2014, however, Gallup found that this percentage had fallen 24 points to 45 percent, while the percentage of respondents who said health care is not a federal responsibility nearly doubled to 52 percent.

No, health care is not the responsibility of the government. But, it is a basic need, the same as water, food, shelter, and clothing. We are a civil and humane people, and we don't just allow people to die without our concern or attention. Do we let folks die even though the means exist that could save their lives? Do we only consider those wealthy enough to afford proper health care as having the right to live? Do we bury our poor without any concern or effort to help them? Do we allow the hungry to starve to death because they're poor? We are a civil and humane people, we care, we help, and we're concerned.

I don't believe that it's the responsibility of the government to force health care on citizens, but I do believe that the government should protect the right to proper health care. We should never discriminate based on wealth or social status. Would you deny water to someone that was too poor to pay you for it? Would you deny food to someone because they are poor and can't pay you for it? We are not animalistic and barbaric, we are civil and humane.

 

[Obiwan]

Sonny

I actually found that link on another thread, where I discussed the fact that I had no problems with using Medicaid to help the poor get medical treatment. As a matter of fact, we discussed the fact that some red states are actually expanding Medicaid to help the poor meet the requirements of the ACA.

The problem seems to be with the ACA itself. Let's hope Congress can come up with a good fix after the SCOTUS makes their decision in June.

 

[Sonny Clark]

Sonny

I actually found that link on another thread, where I discussed the fact that I had no problems with using Medicaid to help the poor get medical treatment. As a matter of fact, we discussed the fact that some red states are actually expanding Medicaid to help the poor meet the requirements of the ACA.

The problem seems to be with the ACA itself. Let's hope Congress can come up with a good fix after the SCOTUS makes their decision in June.

I agree that the ACA is scam, a cruel joke, and does more harm than good. For every person the ACA helps, ten pay the price, in more ways than one. It was a bad idea to begin with, and got worse as time went on. It actually played right into the hands of pharmaceuticals, hospitals, doctors, labs, clinics, and everyone in the health care industry.

 

[S.J.]

Most people wouldn't have a problem with a legitimate universal healthcare program that deals with catastrophic health crises, and it probably would have gotten broad support among the American people but instead, Obama and his comrades are using healthcare as a means of implementing socialism and wealth redistribution. It was never about helping anyone or making the quality of life better for anyone. A lot of people are starting to see that now that it's being implemented.