The Affordable Care Act

July 1, 2012

Chief Justice Roberts successfully prevented criticism of the Supreme Court as being another political tool when he joined with liberal justices in upholding most of the Affordable Care Act this week. I am concerned whether this will turn into a rallying cry for the right to defeat President Obama’s bid for reelection in the fall. This could be a perfect example of the operation of unintended (perhaps, I hate to be cynical) consequences. Of course, if the majority of Americans choose their president based upon their desire to allow the insurance companies unfettered control of health care, so be it. I then do not want to hear complaints as more and more Americans are unable to have decent health care coverage at a reasonable cost, as government is called upon to provide free health care to more and more people because they cannot afford it anymore and the insurance industry gets richer on the backs of all Americans. What I don’t get is why so many people are against being “taxed” so that our country can assure adequate health care for 90% of our population. Isn’t “health” one of the fundamental rights we have as Americans? Why shouldn’t our government play a major role in assuring that? People haven’t raised objections to payroll taxes for medicare and social security. This is no different. Everyone in America should share the financial burden of assuring adequate health care to the vast majority of our citizens. Why not? As a healthier society, we become more productive and our country and all Americans will benefit from this shared investment in our fellow citizen’s well-being. I hope by the time the elections come this year all the misinformation about “Obamacare” will be dispelled and the American people will embrace it as a huge step forward in the history of our great country.