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Old lady at San Miguel Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico.
Author : Tomascastelazo
Many talking points have been flung back and fourth about the need for health care reform and the disadvantage of the poor. No one with a conscience can say that they are not concerned by the plight of the poor. More should be done in assistance of those who truly need help. However,in a system where the assistance such as SNAP and government housing is rife with abuse and lack of enforcement.
How can anyone in their right mind say that government controlled insurance is a logical alternative?
Now there are those coldhearted enough to say that the poor are in need because they are lazy or do nothing to raise themselves above their circumstance, without batting an eyelash. I am not one. I understand as any logical human being , who sees things as they are, understand that there are those who have learned to game the system and play it well. They have made a good life for themselves. And there are those who do indeed require assistance to help them help themselves out of their present circumstance.
How many of us know of individuals who live under section 8 housing and have brand new cars, wicked stereo systems and get their hair and their nails done every week?
Now before someone jumps up and insinuates that I am speaking of race or being a racist. I will say that the people I speak of do not fall into any one ethnic background. They are white, black and Hispanic, so please spare me the racist diatribe that seems to be the norm since the Obama campaign for the Presidency began. I neither conform to what fashion dictates nor do I bend to social trends as I am my own person and do my best to see things from an objective perspective. I am of Hispanic descent but that does not define me as a human being. I am so much more than my ethnic background. Being of Hispanic heritage I find it extremely amusing to be accused of being a racist simply because I voice facts that do not sit well with some. I know the kind of hatred and self doubt that causes racism as I have been a victim of it many times throughout my life.
Yet to allow that hatred to affect me is a choice I do not choose to make. Their hatred is their own and I refuse to let it dictate my life. Nor will I allow someone to curtail my right to voice my opinion by calling me one.
Now with that out of the way I will say this........
Many are using the poor as an excuse for this monstrosity. Yes, you read that right......An Excuse!
If government truly cared about the poor and the poverty stricken would they be criminalizing feeding the hungry?
If they cared about the poor and the poverty stricken would they be criminalizing the homeless families sleeping in cars?
It seems to me the hypocrisy has jumped the rails and has affected many in the mainstream population. You see what you want to see and carry the banner of the defense of the poor like a shield. Spewing the talking points of those war mongering greedy politicians that claim to feel a responsibility for the poor.
Do any of you even understand the consequences of the agenda you are undertaking?
Or in who's name you are championing the rights of the poor while turning a blind eye to the closure of services that assist these poor on a daily basis?
How do you reconcile in that mind, that you are wanting to do a good thing for those in need while supporting the very same people who take measures that hurt those you purport to want to help?
Last I checked that was considered giving with one hand while taking away with the other. Not a good thing to anyone who wants to be honest with themselves or anyone else.
Does anyone understand the fact that the working middle class has now had a substantial part of it downgraded to working poor?
Does it matter to you ?
We live our lives scraping by as best we can . Trying to feed our families, pay or mortgages and our utilities as best we can. Sometimes having to make a choice between running water and electricity.
Have you ever had to make that choice or know of someone who has?
I lived 6 months without running water because I did not make enough to pay for all of my utilities and pay my mortgage. So it was make cuts to items that I could live without and would not harm my children.
Water was the most logical because I had rain barrels and I learned how to purify and treat it for drinking, cooking, bathing, etc , etc.
Have you or anyone you know ever had to go without food so that your children could eat?
Simply eating what the children left after they were done with their meals or making due with a piece of bread and a glass of water to appease the pain that remains constant in your gut?
I have. For 5 years I subsisted on what I could to make sure my children had enough to eat. Making sure that everything that I purchased was on sale so I could stretch out my paycheck as far as I possibly could.
Have you ever dreaded that time of month where your bills become due because if any of them are a bit higher than they were the month before you might not be able to pay one?
I have many times over the last years.
Have you ever prayed that you stay healthy and do not get sick or have any of your children get sick because even a common cold complication would be too much of an expense for your already limited resources?
I have. For many years I lived under constant stress and fear that one of us would fall ill and I would not be able to see a doctor or buy the medicine necessary, because there simply was no money for it.
It is said that Obamacare will ensure that those of us who cannot afford insurance will have adequate care because it will become available. Have any of you who parrot these lines even stopped to think who are those who will qualify and how this will be paid for?
For those who have tried to get assistance but have been turned away because you do not qualify this will not be news. However, to t he rest of you that have absolutely no idea how this works I will try to help you.
If you own a car chances are you do not qualify for assistance. When they calculate your worth that car generally puts you over the top and you are out of luck. If you happen to be lucky enough to live in a city or state that has adequate public transportation then no problem, you don't need a car. If you however, live in a state that has lousy public transportation and happens to be like Florida or Texas (two places where I have lived) where the distances are so great that it would be impossible to take public transportation that neither has adequate coverage or timely schedules. You would probably be fired before your second week due to tardiness.
And no getting up earlier would not have been the solution all of the time as the schedules are posted but in reality they are sporadic and cannot be depended upon. So even if you are early and have plenty of time to spare there is no transport to get you there. Had I lived in NYC it might have been different. However, if we factor in the cost of living as opposed to living wages and the constant rising cost of living. Perhaps not so different.
I applied for temporary assistance and was denied for SNAP and for medical assistance for my children. What I did qualify for was a medical assistance program that would cover any hospital visit as long as I covered the first $1600.00.
Exactly where was I going to come up with $1600.00 ?
At that moment in time you either had to be poverty stricken in the strictest sense or lying about what you had in order to qualify.
So where does that leave us today almost 6 years after the recession and the bank bailouts? Many more working middle class have seen their lives take a turn for the worse. They have lost jobs and are now working two part time jobs with no benefits. Some have jobs making a bit more than minimum wage with benefits who will see their hours cut due to Obamacare. Because companies just simply will not absorb the cost so that they can provide their employees with insurance benefits.
So then what happens when they lose their full time hours and their benefits? Will Obamacare take care of that? Or will they just say " I am Sorry " and simply continue on as they have until now ?
Oblivious to the true plight of the people and interested only in their talking points and their corporate cronies. Business as usual!
What happens to those who could not afford insurance before Obamacare and the cutback of full time to part time hours?
How will they pay for insurance under these increased price tags, when they could not afford them before?
Adding insult to injury Obamacare was created to ride on the backs of the young and the healthy so that their premiums could help supplement the loss incurred by the sick experienced by insurance companies. And by those taxes collected from those of us who simply cannot afford to buy insurance.
Are you not understanding that the safety net is not for us but for the insurance companies so that they do not lose revenue? Have you missed that sticking point?
Yes , those who qualify for subsidies will have health care, but how many others will have to pay for not being able to afford insurance because they simply do not qualify for assistance under the law?
This is what you and Obamacare have created. Assist a part of the population by sacrificing the other. The one point you are all missing is that those you are sacrificing are the ones who pay taxes, who have always paid taxes and do not live off the system. The same taxes that government programs need to survive.
How long do you truly believe this will survive?
What happens when people get tired of always giving while the government and entitlement programs always take?
What happens when those people say enough is enough and they too join the ranks of the poor unemployed and poverty stricken?
Who will pay for entitlements then? The rich?
LOL, they have more safety nets than the trapeze performers at the circus.
Something has to give folks. The system is broken and on it's last leg and working class tax band aids will just not cut it any longer.....
*****Now please bear in mind that this was some years back and these stipulations for assistaace may have changed by now . However, I am trying to make a point to help all those of you who do not get it to at least understand what is at stake and where we are in this mess that you seem to be hell bent should take place.*****
~Desert Rose~
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Sticker Shock and Cancellations: Millions More Hammered by ObamaCare
Written by William F. Jasper
Even many of those policies that have not been cancelled technically are de facto cancelled, since premiums, benefits, co-pays, and deductibles have been so drastically altered that they are no longer the same policies, although they may carry the same name.
3.5 Million Cancelled — and Counting
At first, it was only the 19 million or so people in the individual health insurance market that were said to be at risk of losing their existing plans. Associated Press reported on November 4 that “at least 3.5 million Americans have been issued cancellations, but the exact number is unclear. Associated Press checks find that data is unavailable in a half the states.” So the number of cancellations could already be double that, or more, depending on which state totals remain to be tabulated.
Read More Here
..........
Exclusive: Obama personally apologizes for Americans losing health coverage
In
an exclusive interview with NBC's Chuck Todd, President Obama said that
he is "sorry" that some Americans are losing their current health
insurance plans. "We've got to work hard to make sure that they know we
hear them and we are going to do everything we can," he added.
President
Obama said Thursday that he is "sorry" that some Americans are losing
their current health insurance plans as a result of the Affordable Care
Act, despite his promise that no one would have to give up a health plan
they liked."I am sorry that they are finding themselves in this situation based on assurances they got from me," he told NBC News in an exclusive interview at the White House.
"We've got to work hard to make sure that they know we hear them and we are going to do everything we can to deal with folks who find themselves in a tough position as a consequence of this."
In
a wide-ranging interview with NBC's Chuck Todd, President Obama
discusses implementation of the Affordable Care Act, rollout of the
healthcare website, NSA spying, Iran and keeping Joe Biden as his
running mate.
Obama’s comments come 10 days after NBC News’
Lisa Myers reported that the administration has known since the summer
of 2010 that millions of Americans could lose their insurance under the
law.Obama has made repeated assurances that “if you like your health plan, you will be able to keep your health plan” with Obamacare.
Consumers who buy insurance on their own — about five percent of the population — are at risk of being forced off their current policies because their plans have changed and don’t meet the new standards of the Affordable Care Act.
Obama’s statement has been called into question as Americans have begun to receive cancellation notices, effectively forcing them to enroll in a new plan either with their current insurer or through the government exchanges, in many cases at a higher rate.
Read More and Watch Video Here
..........
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