If you asked: "Do Democrats realize how difficult it has been on working Americans to finance Obamacare?" And the answer you received was: "…keep shopping because what you're telling me is much higher than what I hear from other families," OR, "That's 'IMPLAUSIBLE,'" what would you think?
Most of us would realize we'd been dismissed or impliedly been called liars or too stupid to get it. Yet, those are the responses provided to the woman who posed the question at the TOWN HALL MEETING on 3/13/2016, by Hillary Clinton and the written response to the question provided by Michael Hiltzik of the LA TIMES, respectively.
The only other responses offered by Democrats to the Obamacare debacle is the fear mongering manipulation of --"Things would be worse without it," which Mr. Hiltzik also indulges in as he imagines himself Hillary Clinton responding to the questioner, "Yes, Obamacare has its flaws. But under any of the GOP plans, you'd be lucky to have any insurance at all," http://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-hiltzik-clinton-obamacare-question-snap-htmlstory.html.
If you dismiss the plausibility of an issue, or claim you haven't heard of an issue, likely you will not address the issue and we would indeed be stupid laypeople if we assumed otherwise.
This approach of "new" Democrats, the ASSUMPTION OF THE STUPIDITY OF EVERYONE ELSE, that oozes through the snickering condescension of Barack Obama to the responses of Clinton (and Hiltzik) evidences a disdain for the American public that jeopardizes the long-held presumption that our government is one "of the people, by the people, for the people," (Abraham Lincoln).
On 3/13/2016 at the Democratic TOWN HALL Hillary Clinton was asked: "Do Democrats realize how difficult it has been on working Americans to finance Obamacare?" Clinton responded: "I do want you to keep shopping because what you're telling me is much higher than what I hear from other families." In other words, she didn't believe the questioner.
On March 14, 2016, Michael Hiltzik, answered the question the same way in his attempt to rescue Hillary Clinton in his article, "Hillary Clinton had trouble explaining Obamacare to a layperson. Here's Why," characterizing the questioner's experience as "implausible." Again, he didn't believe the questioner, ("Hillary Clinton had trouble explaining Obamacare to a layperson. Here's why," http://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-hiltzik-clinton-obamacare-question-snap-htmlstory.html).
But even IF they could successfully discredit the questioner, the question is meaningful for millions of Americans who have had the same horrendous experience of increased expenses because of the funneling of money into Obamacare. "Do Democrats realize how difficult it has been on working Americans to finance Obamacare?" An answer in the negative, in this case evidenced by the effort to discredit the questioner illustrates a disdain, superiority and isolation from Americans that puts us all in jeopardy.
Even government assessments of Obamacare acknowledge that COSTS to consumers remains an enormous barrier to obtaining health insurance and that Obamacare is part and parcel of the rising costs because, it was DESIGNED that way.
The plans on exchanges were bribed to participate with risk reinsurance, risk corridors and risk adjustment payments to protect them from loss. (Two of those payments to insurers by government are set to expire this year which is why we're now hearing about insurers threatening to leave the exchanges, http://conoutofconsumer.blogspot.com/2015/12/how-obamacare-shot-itself-in-foot.html, Blue Cross/Blue Shield is threatening the same.)
Then there was legislative incorporation by Obamacare of the old insurance game, keep prices down by providing less coverage. This was described by the government itself: “…CBO and JCT anticipate that many plans will not be able to sustain such low provider payment rates or such narrow networks over the next few years, placing upward pressure on exchange premiums,” (CBO publication 49973, March 2015).
Again, as anticipated, the cost of Obamacare plans surged this year. (For those not on exchanges, the price increases happened earlier.) ("Obamacare prices increase for those who don't get subsidies," Dan Mangan, CNBC, 11/2/2015, "Yep, Obamacare Costs a Fortune," Christopher Flavelle, 2/11/2015, BloombergView).
There is no waiting period that will "solve" the problem. Obamacare was and is a gimmick to control the per capita costs, the amount of money government payers spend on insureds by charging insureds more and providing less coverage.
Remember the question? Do Democrats realize how difficult it has been on working Americans to finance Obamacare? The answer in reality has to be YES, an unqualified YES, not a "Keep shopping, because that's not what I hear," or a dismissal of the experience because it's hard to explain Obamacare to a LAYPERSON as Michael Hiltzik asserts.
Desperate to discredit the questioner and more desperate to NOT ANSWER THE QUESTION ASKED, Mr. Hiltzik resorts to showing how cleverly he might have explained away the experience of millions of Americans if only he'd been provided details.
In spite of report after report and government confirmation that COSTS remains an enormous barrier to health CARE, worse now because we're forced to by the financial product of health insurance, Mr. Hiltzik asserts that facing increased costs is "implausible." He spends time showing his Healthcare.gov portal prowess in plugging in numbers (imaginary) that prove his conclusion (also imaginary) that claims that Obamacare is too expensive are imaginary.
Finally he asserts the same scared Democrat approach: Things could be worse without Obamacare advising the Hillary Clinton should have said just that to the questioner.
Democrats looking to prove the falseness, the implausibility of the actual experiences and new difficulties that emerge constantly with Obamacare or who expect everyone to suck it up because things could be worse are OBVIOUSLY not the ones who are going to address the critical, growing and persistent problems with Obamacare.
Half-hearted "we'll take a look at it" approaches do not distract most of us from realizing that Democrats are NOT the right ones to address the critical problems with our healthcare system, including the tremendous and growing expenses laid at the feet of consumers as part of the grand experiment of Obamacare. To answer the question: NO. Democrats do NOT realize how difficult it has been on working Americans to finance Obamacare.
