Paul Krugman: The REAL Winners

[FarLeftFist]

So the Supreme Court — defying many expectations — upheld the Affordable Care Act, a k a Obamacare. There will, no doubt, be many headlines declaring this a big victory for President Obama, which it is. But the real winners are ordinary Americans — people like you.

How many people are we talking about? You might say 30 million, the number of additional people the Congressional Budget Office says will have health insurance thanks to Obamacare. But that vastly understates the true number of winners because millions of other Americans — including many who oppose the act — would have been at risk of being one of those 30 million.

So add in every American who currently works for a company that offers good health insurance but is at risk of losing that job (and who isn’t in this world of outsourcing and private equity buyouts?); every American who would have found health insurance unaffordable but will now receive crucial financial help; every American with a pre-existing condition who would have been flatly denied coverage in many states.

In short, unless you belong to that tiny class of wealthy Americans who are insulated and isolated from the realities of most people’s lives, the winners from that Supreme Court decision are your friends, your relatives, the people you work with — and, very likely, you. For almost all of us stand to benefit from making America a kinder and more decent society.

The rest: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/29/opinion/the-real-winners.html?_r=1&smid=tw-NytimesKrugman&seid=auto

[ProSense]

1. Obama

should hire Krugman.

[SusanaMontana41]

7. I'm a Krugman groupie.

[Squinch]

23. Me too. We need a fan club and a magazine. And Paul Krugman trading cards.

[ailsagirl]

27. Count me in!

[tropicanarose]

33. *high fives* me too! He is highly intelligent and spot-on

[ailsagirl]

35. Joe Conason ain't bad either!

[patrice]

38. Yep. Krugman & Howard Dean.

[seabeyond]

2. and krugman does not say nice things if he does not have to. nt

[kentuck]

3. But it's a tax...

Doesn't that make it bad?? Shit! This is so confusing!

[freshwest]

4. But when they pay taxes in Europe and get health care from the government, it's good! Sigh...

I guess no one will ever get it...

[WinkyDink]

20. This isn't remotely like European health-care, for which I, as a tourist, SEVERAL times paid $0.

Are you under the misapprehension that paying a private company for h-c insurance is the same as being taxed by the Federal govt?

Do you think your buying a car is the same as the govt's supplying Jeeps to the Army?

Do you think having publicly-funded education is the same as paying private-school tuition?

[RufusTFirefly]

31. +1000 Given the revolving door, it's fast becoming the same thing

It alarms me greatly the way more and more people seem unable (or unwilling) to differentiate the public from the private.

Matters are made worse by the fact that so many of our "public spaces" are privately owned.

Shopping malls are a good example.
So is Facebook, frankly.

[freshwest]

5. Straight to the heart of the matter. Thanks Krugman and thanks tor posting it.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

6. Krugman really explains this, in clear and simple terms.

I too wish Obama would hire him.

[hfojvt]

8. who knew

that forcing everybody to buy health insurance

would "make America a kinder and more decent society"?


We should end homelessness next by mandating for everybody to rent an apartment. Call it the Affordable Rent Act.


Then we could end lonliness by mandating that everybody buy a cellphone (and associated plan). The Affordable App Act.

Then we could end boredom by mandating that everybody buy an xbox. The Affordable Game Act.


Think of the kindness and decency we could create with just a few more mandates. Just give me a chance to open another bookstore and then mandate everybody buy $500 worth of books every month. There's some kindness and decency I could believe in.

Now all we have to do is make everybody eat their vegetables. The Affordable Ketchup Act.

[Nye Bevan]

9. Yeah. Countries like the UK and Sweden do that too.

They force everyone to pay tax, which pays for health coverage. There is no way to "opt out" of this system. My heart just bleeds for those poor Europeans, who are forced into paying taxes for health insurance.

[hfojvt]

11. oh, but that depends on the tax

If taxes are progressive, then many people can opt out of them

Simply by "virtue" of being too poor to pay them.

Last year, I myself paid no federal income tax.

[muriel_volestrangler]

21. If your income is below the federal tax-filing threshold, there is no health tax to pay

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2012/03/what-is-the-individual-mandate-and-what-if-its-declared-unconstitutional.html

[AlbertCat]

36. Last year, I myself paid no federal income tax.

You and Exxon.

Maybe we should subsidize people a little instead of corporations that make billions.

Besides income tax is not the only tax.

Oh, and everybody will need health care sooner or later... everyone. It's not a choice. Buying books (at your store) is a choice.

[Fumesucker]

13. You can fly to the UK today, get sick and be taken care of by their system, won't cost you a cent..

Visitors to the US on the other hand are warned that getting sick here in the land of the free can financially ruin them and visitors are urged to get a temporary insurance policy.

That's the difference, they have a system that covers *everyone* via actual real taxes and we still don't and still won't.

[Nye Bevan]

22. Not true.

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/england/healthcare_e/healthcare_help_with_health_costs_e/nhs_charges_for_people_from_abroad.htm

[brislington]

28. Actually, it's an in theory over in practice thing

In theory visitors from abroad do pay, but not very much. When visiting our relatives at Christmas out entire family got sick (que blame for British food...actually a bug going round) me , my wife and two kids. From shaky memory it cost us about $100 when converted, not including prescriptiuon antibiotics which were about $30. However, the doctor, who was my mother-in-laws family doctor and had treated their family for years, came out to us at her home, through the snow, on Christmas day. This was the only time I ever paid.

On other occasions I have been treated in UK completely for free, just because the docotor couldn't be bothered with or didn't know how to do the paperwork or take hte money. They are just not normally geared up for taking money since it rarely is necessary.

[Skittles]

37. THAT IS SINGLE PAYER

THEY PAY TAXES FOR ACTUAL HEALTH CARE

HERE IT IS HEALTH INSURANCE; actual HEALTH CARE not so assured

[bornskeptic]

16. Who would think that the lie that the ACA forces insurance purchase would not have died by now?

The whole point of yesterday's decision was that all the mandate does is assess a tax on people who can afford to purchase insurance and don't want to do so. Actually, the number of people who end up buying health insurance because of the mandate will be very small. Most of the newly insured, other than those insured through Medicaid, will be people who want to have insurance, and find that it has suddenly become available at an affordable price through the premium subsidies.

[hfojvt]

30. if that is the case

then why not drop the motherfucking mandate?

[Squinch]

24. You forgot about the broccoli. We all just love that broccoli talking point. It's so compelling.

[Myrina]

39. +1brazillion

[SunSeeker]

10. K&R

[eridani]

12. Unless you are one of the 15% that is expensively sick

In that case, your crappy Bronze-level coverate will leave you bankrupt and possibly dead anyway.

[bornskeptic]

14. Even bronze level coverage, unlike Medicare, has a limit on out of pocket expenses.

Of course it would be rather stupid to opt for the bronze level coverage rather than the standard silver if you have such an expensive condition. But even with the bronze you will be a lot better off than someone with the same condition and no insurance.

[eridani]

15. Wonderful. Alll the poor slobs who can only afford shitty bronze coverage are now "stupid."

Bronze will give you bankruptcy and homelessness in the event of serious illness. How do I know? All you have to do is to look at MA, where 50% of bankruptcies are STILL due to medical costs, and funding for public hospitals has been totally gutted.

[bornskeptic]

18. It's not likely that many people could only afford bronze coverage.

For example, a single person 30 years old would have to have an income over about $35,000 before he or she could save any money on premium cost by choosing bronze rather than silver. It works out that way because premium cost for people with incomes below 400% of the poverty level is capped at a percentage of income, and if the unsubsidized cost of 60%AV (bronze) insurance is higher than that cap, the cap would still determine premium cost, and so the person would have to pay as much for bronze coverage as for silver.

[eridani]

19. The same income percent is a HUGE chunk of money for people earning less than that

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_income_in_the_United_States

Median income for single people is about $33K, meaning that half make less that that. And you are forgetting that older people can be charged 3X as much for the same coverage.

All you need to know about ACA can be found out by looking at MA, where medical bankruptcies are still 50% of all bankruptcies. Most of those people are insured, but it doesn't do them any good.

[Scurrilous]

17. K & R

[ailsagirl]

25. I trust Mr. Krugman

So to hear his thoughts about ACA gives me a sense of relief. Krugman never pulls punches. For better or worse, we can absolutely rely on his wisdom, and the thoughts he expressed in this op-ed are welcome indeed.
Thanks a million for posting!!

[Turbineguy]

26. ".... a kinder and more decent society...."

And that's why Krugman is the enemy of the Republican Party.

[highplainsdem]

29. K&R

[Brooklyn Dame]

32. Krugman knows...and those of us who are women paying higher premiums, have pre-existing conditions..

...or are taxpayers who eventually foot the bill for others' visits to the ER are ALL winners!

But the fight isn't over...

http://borderlessnewsandviews.com/2012/06/obamacare-is-the-law-of-the-land-the-battle-begins/


http://borderlessnewsandviews.com/2012/06/why-care-because-if-you-dont-you-still-lose/

[SemperEadem]

34. what I love the most about this

is that I can now contemplate other options for myself and my life that do not include me staying in a job I have grown to hate and live in an area of the country I despise just because the job has got good benefits.

[Honeycombe8]

40. So true. This man has no fear. He is sometimes the only voice saying the unpopular but true thing.nt