Chaffetz: Poor people would have health coverage if they didn't spend money on that new iPhone

[procon]

48. Republicans have a specific mental image that a poor person in America

is supposed to look like a photo spread in National Geographic depicting impoverished refugees in Africa or India. It goes without saying that Republicans believe that all poor people are persons of color, and therefor unworthy because they are inherently shiftless, violent and promiscuous. A person who is truly poor would be barefoot, dressed in filthy rags and living on the mean streets and scavenging for food in dumpsters. To qualify as poor means they can't have any possessions whatsoever... OK. maybe a chipped begging bowl is permitted. Yet they must be required to"invest in their own health care"?

How many times have you heard some Republican argue that anyone living in an actual building with electricity and running water cannot really qualify as being poor. They think having a low wage job or doing to school is not a sign of being poor. If people live in a building that includes a stove and fridge, and comes with basic WiFi and cable, that's a sign of affluence. Poor people need to choose between such luxuries and "make wise financial decisions if they really wanted to have access to health care."