Ya know, I’ve been very worried about the shutdown and possible debt default, like everyone else. “What does this mean for regular people?” is what always comes to mind. And of course, “What would this mean for me?”.
I live in California at the moment. I just moved from the South a few months ago. I was going to attend the University of Southern California, but decided that the amount of debt I would have to go into to earn the degree was prohibitive. So, I’m considering other options, including looking for work and moving again. Since the ACA just went online yesterday, I’ve been looking at my options, and the variance from state to state. Just a few minutes ago, I heard an ad on the radio for Covered California. The state has done a great job of implementing the law, and the rates are really quite low. I’ve also looked at North Carolina. I may move there, and have been worried because supposedly it’s a state that has done little to promote competition in the marketplace, thus not achieving lower rates. I’m a 27 year old male, exactly the demographic that Tea Partiers say will be devastated by the ACA. But, in NC, I can buy a plan for $200 a month, and that’s pre-tax credit. At the moment, of course, I’m jobless, so I could also use Medicaid. Or I could pay the small tax, but I’m not gonna do that ‘cause then I wouldn’t be covered.
After considering all of this, I came to a new understanding. While the healthcare fight was going on a few years ago, I always considered it in the abstract. I believe strongly in universal coverage, that it constitutes a right in the wealthiest nation in the world. But really, I hadn’t considered myself in the equation. I’m white, male, come from a fairly well-off family. I’d be fine. That’s true, I would be fine, but now I don’t have to worry about bowing down to my parents or a corporation for coverage. And that’s a profound psychological re-alignment. It means more freedom, less fear. When people start to understand that government can provide some personal economic security, it releases them from the kind of paralyzing fear that seems to grip this nation much of the time. Unfortunately, the Republican Party has been married to maintaining that state of fear. It keeps people in line, makes them controllable. Paradoxically, being “conservatives”, they’re destroying public order (and law) to try and maintain control over regular people. They can’t, though. The jig is up, the game is over. They’ve lost. And I think that this could represent a fundamental psychological change in the Country’s view of government, otherwise we would not be witnessing this remarkable anxiety from them.
So, what about the present? Obviously, we need to do all we can to pressure these people to be reasonable. But, they may not be. In the worst-case scenario, we default and a lot of people will be hurt. If that happens, I don’t see how they exist as a party for much longer. Still, we would have to work to make sure that is a reality, that the Republican Party would be utterly destroyed if they choose to collapse our financial system. So my message is this: this game is ours in the long run, let’s continue working right here, right now to stop the craziness and create a better reality for people. All the momentum is on our side.
