I've had this DK account forever, but I've never actually written a diary. I was watching the markup session on CSpan for the Senate Health Care bill and I just wanted someone to listen to me. So, I'm writing this in the off-chance that someone might read it.
I can't afford food. I can't afford car insurance. I haven't worked since November - not by choice - and I don't have any prospects for work. I'm a fully grown adult and I'm staying in my father's guest room.
I'm college educated. I even worked as a staff member for the President's campaign last year. I'm hard working. I want to work. I'd even take work tending bar if I could find it, but I'm stranded in the back woods of Louisiana.
More often than not in my adult life, I haven't had health care. Some times I have, and when I do I go to the doctor. I smoke cigarettes, drink beer, and love chocolate and bacon. I really don't care about my health. It's not a big deal to me. I've certainly never felt "trapped in a job" because it provided health care. I've known people that have felt like that, but they've all had terminal/persistent conditions. I dated a girl once with lupus and she was trapped in the same job she'd had since before she went to college.
I've never taken advantage of Medicaid, either. In fact, other than federal student aid, I've never taken advantage of any government program or welfare. I suppose if I was in a car accident or something, but I've had significant physical injuries without receiving medical attention. I broke my collar bone skiing in college and had a friend set it for me and wore a sling for three months. I used to box and broke my nose and my cheekbones. I had the ring doctor patch me up.
It would have been nice to have full, modern medical attention - but it's just never been a priority for me. All a non-surgeon does is prescribe pills and I'm perfectly competent to get them on my own...
I started working for President Obama in South Carolina. I went out there to volunteer and they hired me. I worked in 9 states throughout the campaign. 15 hours days, 7 days a week gets really hard. I liked the guy. I was excited to be working for the man who could possibly be the first black President. In the primaries, as it got hard, I was more motivated to Slay the Harpy Whose Husband Sold My Town to Mexico than I was in winning for my own side.
Ultimately, the one issue that motivated me when things were worst was the Health Care Mandate.
The federal government just doesn't have the authority to tell me I have to purchase something - particularly, something that would eat up a quarter of my income! That's just not the way America was supposed to work. The federal government isn't supposed to interact with me against my will on a daily basis. Obviously, certain exceptions are Constitutionally mandated - the income tax amendment or if I choose to engage in interstate commerce.
I'm not some crazy Ron Paul federalist, but the states are supposed to insulate me from this crap. The state certainly has a more broad police power that would allow this sort of mandate, but if I don't like a state law or a mandate, I can leave the state! I can't leave America!
The way I see this working is, the cost of health care premiums are going to go up in direct proportion to the amount of the federal subsidy. Insurance premiums have nothing to do with cost - they're a maximized profit margin. They go up because that's what people are willing (forced via employment-based monopoly) to pay.
Eventually, Democrats are going to lose a seat in the Senate and funding for the "public option" (whatever the heck a co-op is - Is everyone in the Senate a reject wanna-be hippy from the 60s?) is going to plummet. The "bipartisan populist agreement" is going to be to increase funding for the subsidy which is going to translate directly and proportionately into increased premiums.
Minnesota doesn't mandate car insurance. They have the lowest costs for car insurance and their rate of coverage is substantially greater than the national average of states that mandate car insurance.
I guess I live in Massachusetts, now - except all the bars suck here, it's too hot, and there are too many trees. I can't afford food. I can't afford car insurance. I can't afford health care. But now, instead of health care, I get a nice, big, fine.
I think what bothers me the most is the mandate was the biggest issue for me during the primary. It kept me going when I wanted to quit. I guess I was holding out hope that Baucus and Kennedy would butt heads and some idiot blue dog would break with the caucus and health care would die in the Senate (Why does health care survive and EFCA die?). President Obama doesn't care to stand up to the Senate and veto. Heck, I never got the impression last year that he even cared that much about the issue - I guessed then that he'd just punt it to the Senate. I figured the House would kick out something awesome and the Kennedy's of the Senate would shape a bill that wouldn't hurt me and I'd be fine.
It feels like everything I worked for last year was a waste.
You know what bothers me even more? Health care is such a stupid easy issue to resolve. One bill, two lines:
Open Medicare enrollment to everyone.
Remove the regressive cap on FICA payments.
Boom! Done before lunch - and everyone can keep their insurance if they really like it. Oh yeah, my bill fixes Social Security, too. LOL
If you made it this far, thanks. This was very cathartic.