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Health & Fitness

Obamacare Is a Good Disincentive to Work

Yes, Obamacare is a disincentive for some people to work.  But the only ones that I know are Republicans. This story is rooted in incidents that happened back when Roy Barnes was Governor. He got rid of Georgia’s racist state flag which earned him a “Profile in Courage Award” and the undying hatred of Georgia’s racist community.

For about 18 months after that brave and noble decision, Cobb Democrats could not have a meeting, monthly breakfast, 4th of July Bar-b-que, or Jefferson-Jackson Day dinner without a mob of crazed racists showing up. They would bring bull horns and scream the most vile, ugly, and obscene things that their mothers had taught them. They would wave confederate flags and yell. At a Democratic meeting in the city of Marietta chambers, the flaggers (as they were then called) pounded on the windows and yelled with the intention of scaring someone.

Try as they might, these flaggers did not intimidate anyone. Not one Democrats blood pressure was raised even a little. Flaggers tried to imitate their fathers or cousins that were doing the same thing back in the 1960’s. They must have forgotten that their older relatives lost that battle, just like their much older relatives had lost so many battles in the previous century.

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Nevertheless, there was this Saturday morning town hall meeting at the Thread Mill near Austell.  It was in the paper and I thought that I would go see what it was like, since they don’t do that kind of thing in East Cobb or in any district of a Republican state rep. The Democratic state representative for that area was going to talk about PeachCare health insurance for kids.

Outside the Thread Mill were about a dozen flaggers standing in the street outside the entrance to the parking lot. They were doing their waving, yelling thing and because they weren’t too bright, which goes without saying, they almost got run over by a few passing cars. The police came by and instructed them not to stand in the street. Then they marched thru the parking lot and into the Thread Mill building and continued to yell and wave their flags.

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The police had to inform them that this was private property and to cut out the yelling and generally making fools of themselves. Always in a mood to look the bully or domestic terrorist, a flagger pulled out a video camera and appeared to be taking pictures of anyone entering the meeting room, like “we know who you are.” Idiots do not intimidate anyone. The camera probably didn’t have any film in it.

They sat down and tried to ask questions of interest to themselves about flags and such. The state representative was in her 20’s but quickly got the flaggers attention and obedience. Initially, they acted like disruptive little children and the representative acted like that elementary school teacher who could walk in to any school room and with one glance take control. Soon, the discussion was about health insurance for children whose parents did not have health insurance at work or could not afford it on the open market or had a preexisting condition. Flaggers had to raise their hands to get called on and the question had to be about health insurance.

Then the flaggers volunteered one sad story after another about how they were truckers, carpenters, or mechanics and did not have health insurance because it wasn’t offered at work or was too expensive on the open market, if they could get it at any price. They told about how their wives, who worked full-time in the public schools in the cafeteria, driving a school bus, mopping floors, or working in the office, provided the health insurance for the family.

These were older women who worked long hours at sometimes physically difficult jobs. Many of these women would retire if they could get affordable quality health insurance for their family without exceptions for pre-existing conditions and lifetime limits. They were a few years away from Medicare eligibility and were holding on to their jobs till age 65. Some might like to continue helping the family financially with a job but with reduced hours. Some might like spending more time with their grandchildren as well as helping out as baby sitters for their children.  

Without Obamacare, these options are not available. Before Obamacare, health insurance for many of these women and their families was available only at their full time jobs. This was the only way that their racist husbands could continue getting their medicine, medical treatments, doctor, and hospital visits.

With Obamacare, many flaggers will become eligible for health insurance. Many will take advantage of this health care plan which might allow a member of their family who doesn’t want to work or work full-time to be able to enjoy that part of the American dream that had been denied to them before.

Flaggers are free to vote against their own self-interest, as their fathers, and their grandfathers did before them.  

EXCEPTION ALERT: GOP State Rep Rich Golick of Vinings announced a Town Hall meeting after a strong Democratic opponent, Erik Allen, announced his candidacy. 

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