I. Am. Not. Your. Enemy.

[grantcart]

112. Well said

I would take point in only one point

I believe the ACA is a mediocre solution to a hard core problem. That does not mean I am your enemy.

The ACA has not ever been seen as a 'solution'. It is the first step and, as first steps go, it is a radical departure. While some folks write smart ass threads bemoaning that ACA is not single payer they appear to be unaware that the ACA is the single largest expansion of single payer since the advent of Medicaid. To date more than 4 million low income folks have been added to Medicaid/CHIP roles. This is hardly 'mediocre'. More over many of the 2 million private ACA enrollees will, like me, be getting excellent subsidies, which duplicate the function of single payer systems, if they are not technically so.

The second point is that there is no one step switch to single payer. It is true that England flipped a switch, all at once, but that was only because they were faced with a national emergency after the war and their entire health care industry had collapsed, and their was a national realization that the entire country had a shared sacrifice and now should have a shared benefit.

Even if we could have some how gotten it passed the Senate, it would never have gotten Chief Justice's Roberts deciding vote. This isn't conjecture but fact. We know this because while he found the ACA constitutional he found the federal mandate that all states expand Medicare to be unconstitutional. Expanding Medicare is a much smaller step in the single payer evolution.

Canada took 20 years to move from a very modest guaranteed hospital plan in a small province to comprehensive national single payer coverage.

If you look at any federal agency, Social Security, CDC, Medicare and so on, support for their growth always occurs after they demonstrate their effectiveness.

History will show that the ACA wasn't simply the largest peacetime expansion of the Federal Government into the private sector in 200 years, it was the largest step possible. Anything more would not have passed the Roberts Court.

So while I enjoy your post and its message, I find that characterizing the ACA as a proposed 'solution' rather than a historic 'first step' is unfortunate.

In any case I am not your enemy and applaud your reasoned argument for a wider perspective and more civility at DU.



edited to add: I occasionally shop at WalMart. They are never my first choice and I go their rarely but sometimes, especially in some rural areas (i.e. Brawley CA) they are the only place to shop within 20 miles. That people would want to try and make an issue with such a statement just shows that they didn't get your point at all. Sorry to hear about your wife and son. Best of luck.