I live in the rural South.
Everyone here is very conservative. I live in what may well be the headquarters of the Beck/Palin movement. It's very depressing sometimes.
So I had a conversation tonight with a 20-year-old friend of mine. I know that her upper-middle-class parents are hardcore Republicans and that Fox News has been on at her house nonstop for the past decade. I haven't asked specifically, but I would think it quite likely that she defied her family and voted for Obama last year despite her regrets. Georgia ended up 52-47, and it was only close because of people like her.
She is "A". I am "B".
3:08am A
getting in fights may get him in trouble
bc hes not insured
but at the e.r. i guess somehow he gets through
as terrible as that is
3:09am B
everyone gets emergency health care
3:11am A
i have no insurance
i hate the current health care system
3:12am B
yeah I imagine, I've been uninsured before I got this job
pretty ridiculous that we're the only modern country where people don't get medical care because they can't afford it
3:15am A
i just feel like... of all people. i should be able to afford health care. Conservative or liberal- i think both groups want people like me to be cared for. im young, a college graduate, ambitious, from a good, generally law abiding family
3:16am B
yeah exactly
3:16am A
to buy my asthsma medicine without insurance costs over 600 per month.
that is completely insane. more than my rent.
3:16am B
if someone like you falls through the cracks there's something terribly wrong with the system
3:17am A
i know. i just feel like i deserve protection. im an educated, young, working girl whose parents made wise decisions, pay a shit load of taxes each year etc.
3:17am B
nobody should have to worry about stuff like that
and in canada australia and europe, nobody has to
only here
3:19am A
yeah i mean there are definitely flaws in the other systems too. but this one hurts me!! and in canada i can purchase my medicine without insurance for about 60 per month so fuck the u.s.
3:19am B
in a few months once this bill is passed insurance companies have to give you a good policy
3:20am A
yeah but i dont feel that the bill is ultimately going to help me much
right now with my preexisting conditions coverage for me is over 300 per month
with no employee program
and i cant enroll in the metlife program bc im not earning enough money and i havent been there long enough
3:21am B
under the bill insurance companies can't discriminate on price based on preexisting conditions
and you can be under your parents' coverage until age 26
3:22am A
yeah but i feel like passing that bill right now might make it easier for me to get health insurance but harder to get a job
the premiums are ridiculous
i work for an insurance company and cant get decent insurance
3:23am B
like I said, they can't adjust premiums based on preexisting conditions
and your employer has to offer you coverage
3:24am A
i just want coverage i can actually afford.
which is not happening anytime soon
but i feel healthy
tho i may have a cavity
3:25am B
every serious economist says that this bill will significantly lower health care costs compared to the status quo
3:25am A
yeah but its going to significantly increase the national debt
3:25am B
no, it actually reduces the deficit
3:25am A
and i dont think thats what the economy needs right now
3:26am B
$135 billion reduction in the first 10 years, and $650 billion reduction in the second 10 years
3:26am A
it costs what 1.3 tril or something
3:26am B
those are the expenses, but it's all paid for
3:28am A
i want to see things get better for myself. then i will have faith.
3:28am B
fair enough
I imagine that's what a lot of people think
3:29am A
yes it is
prob bc the economy sucks right now and everyone is feeling it somehow
i actually make more money bartending than financial advising
3:30am B
yep, the economy is always the big factor
lol, that's funny
not surprising though
3:30am A
yeah it sucks bc i hate bartending
more than i hate financial advising
but people like alcohol
This friend of mine, who's very intelligent, and a recent graduate of a good college, is bartending on the weekends to afford her asthma medicine. And yet she doesn't believe this health care bill will help her.
i want to see things get better for myself. then i will have faith.
That's what it's all about. We won in 2008 based on the promise of helping people. We're only going to win in the future if people actually see that their lives are better off because Democrats are in power.