As the year 2013 drew to a close, it’s a time for reflection and looking back at the major issues and debates of the past twelve months. And undoubtedly, one of the biggest controversies of the year in US politics (and, to an extent, world politics, due to the still massive influence of that country) was the Affordable Care Act – often known by its slightly silly nickname ‘Obamacare’.
The idea of the Affordable Care Act, in a nutshell, was to provide a kind of universal healthcare for Americans by insisting that every citizen purchase health insurance, and forcing insurance companies to provide reasonably-priced packages to make this possible (as well as providing subsidies for the poorest people). In theory, this seems like a good idea – ensuring that the US will no longer see the situation of people being unable to pay for their basic health needs.
According to its detractors, however, the program was plagued with problems. Most notably, the website for choosing new insurance policies had a number of bugs and often simply refused to work. Some people who previously had generous work-provided packages suddenly found themselves having to pay more than they expected. But in general, both of these complaints seem relatively small – minor problems that can be ironed out over time. Why then, was ‘Obamacare’ such a massive point of contention within the US? For the majority of opponents, the problems are not practical but ideological – they simply oppose the very concept of providing healthcare for everyone in the country.
There is an ideological belief in the US (and in many other places) that people’s lives are only the result of their own decisions and actions. This is the basis of the ‘American Dream’, the idea that anyone, no matter where they start in life, can make a success of themselves in America through hard work. This completely ignores the many structured power systems that are at work in any society – obvious problems like racism and sexism, but also the advantages that people from wealthier families have in terms of education, connections, and safety nets. However, despite being wholly unrealistic, this idea of the ‘American Dream’ is what makes many people think that they have no responsibility to help their fellow citizens through contributing to a healthcare system – they think that those without healthcare have caused their own problems through not working hard enough, and never stop to think that the problems may in fact be structural.
This is a mindset that we see on many issues across the US these days, and across the world. There are people who have been fortunate enough to be born into a system that gives them advantages, power, and wealth, and there are people who are unfortunate enough to have found themselves on the opposite side of the equation, without the opportunities and material advantages that many of us have. Ultimately, however, those who have everything and those who have nothing still have the same basic needs – healthcare, for example. A fairer and more just society, in which we help our fellow humans rather than trying to keep them down, will thus benefit us all – and spending a little extra on health insurance won’t really hurt us, but will immediately help other people live more fulfilling lives.
In the year 2014, we need to fight more than ever to make society more just, to make people more understanding, and to make life fairer and easier for all. At NRGLab and the Ana Shell Fund this is what we try to do every day, through developing cheaper alternative forms of energy and other projects, but there’s still much work to be done – and we hope you’ll be around to help us with is in 2014.
Affordable Care Act, alternative forms of energy, American dream, ana shell, ana shell fund, ana shell media, basic health needs, basic needs,developing projects, fairer life, gives advantages, health insurance, healthcare crisis, ideological belief, insurance companies,just society, live fulfilling lives, major issues, massive influence, material advantages, nrglab, Obamacare, obvious problems,opposite side of equation, pay more than expect, plagued with problems, point of contention, poorest people, providing healthcare, providing subsidies, purchase health insurance, racism, reasonably-priced packages, see mindset, sexism,structural problems, structured power systems, the false American dream, time for reflection, understanding people, universal healthcare for Americans, US politics, year 2013 drew to a close, year 2014
No comments:
Post a Comment