I'll start by saying that I am and was raised a liberal by my parents, and I knowingly married the love of my life who happens to be a die-hard republican.
My husband's family is lower middle class. He grew up very poor, living off food stamps and welfare, eating from giant bricks of government-handed out american cheese. Both of his parents have significant health care issues, and the only way they have health insurance is through an employer-sponsored plan. His mom has been declined health insurance several times due to her preexisting conditions.
And yet they are still hardcore republicans.
My husband was the first in his family to go to college, and now is the CEO/founder of his own successful startup.
My parents and I have had several conversations about how confusing it is when people who would benefit the most from the dems' proposed healthcare plans don't want it or agree with it or have any interest in it.
Last night, I had a discussion with my husband about it - with me expressing my confusion at his parents not being interested in universal healthcare with no preexisting condition issues, etc. And he said they don't want any government handouts. His parents are proud and they don't want to take money from well to do taxpayers (us) and give it to them. They fear that any government healthcare plan would be akin to welfare, the bottom of the barrel healthcare, the "office that doesn't always clean their instruments." I expressed that is not the plan - that Obama's plan was for everyone to have access to affordable healthcare equivalent to the Senator's plans. My husband said that it would still be second rate. If we are still covered under our nice employer plan and don't need to buy in to Obama's plan, that there would still be a wide variance in the quality of care between the two (gov't vs. employer). He said just look at the VA...
You'll have to excuse my lack of knowledge, this IS the first year I have taken a serious interest in politics, and I have not yet studied the different healthcare plans in detail, other than what is on Obama's website.
How do I convince my in-laws that universal healthcare (Obama's version) would not eventually turn into long lines at dirty healthcare offices?
Thanks in advance.