If you start a thread poor-mouthing about how you just can't swing ACA...

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104. How about a Republican who says, "I lived on (blank) for (time period) and was quite comfortable."?

When some Republican does an "experiment" where he shows how "easy" it is to live on minimum wage or to eat well while on food stamps by trying it himself for some limited period of time, are we not supposed to scrutinize this claim and ask pertinent questions about his circumstances? I darn well would like some specifics from people making such claims, wouldn't you? I read Nickel and Dimed and it was a good read, but the author didn't just say, "It's really, really hard to live on minimum wage. The end." She showed what made it so hard. She disclosed when she had to "cheat" a bit (using money she already had). I do think if you're going to discuss things like public assistance and ACA in a political context, you need to get down to details.

Look, if someone I know personally says, "these new ACA expenses are really hurting me," I'm certainly not going to demand to look at their monthly budget so I can see it for myself. But when you come on a political board and use yourself as an example of how the system is no good, that's a horse of a different color. I think you should expect to face some scrutiny under those circumstances.

(Besides that, some people are giving excellent tips and suggestions for navigating the system. Sometimes people are misunderstanding some aspects of it. Letting people help you is another good reason for answering specific questions about your circumstances.)