 |
| Image credit: Randy mcwilson |
Argh, I just have to write about the political situation in the United States right now. The health care exchange for Obamacare opened up a couple days ago despite Republicans' attempt to defund it, parts of the federal government are shut down, and, of course, the nation is still deeply in debt. What's frustrating me the most, however, is some of the discussions surrounding the issues.
One of my biggest pet peeves I've found is when people spread misinformation, whether intentionally or not, to further their argument. The big piece of information that is really bothering me right now is the idea that Congress is exempt from Obamacare. Conservatives against the law keep saying that's the case, but from what I understand, it's untrue. My understanding is that a provision created by a Republican senator forced Congress and its staff to obtain health care from the exchanges that Obamacare would create instead of being able to keep their current insurance, which most Americans from large companies would be able to do. I wish I could find the original article where I read about this, but this one will have to do. The original one said that the Republican Senator, Sen. Chuck Grassley, originally proposed the addition to the bill for partisan reasons. He thought that Democrats would oppose the provision, and then he would tell Americans that they wanted to be exempt from the law (which would've been utter nonsense). However, Democrats embraced Sen. Grassley's proposal, and now, in an ironic twist, Republicans are attacking the bill for an "exemption" that a Republican created!
