Elisberg Industries
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Products
    • Books
    • Movies
  • About Elisberg Industries
    • Our Corporate Board
    • Information Overstock
    • Elisberg Industries Entertainment Information
    • Elisberg Statistical Center of American Research
    • Consultancy Service
  • Contact
    • How to Find Us
  • Kudos
  • Good Things to Know
    • The BOB Page
    • Sites You Might Actually Like
Decent Quality Since 1847

To Your Good Health

6/25/2015

2 Comments

 
I've been running around a bit this morning, but I can't let the day pass without at least commenting on some initial thoughts about the news from the Supreme Court, upholding the Affordable Care Act.

I was particularly pleased to see that at the center of the Court's decision is something I've written about -- that though the one passage in question was slightly ambiguous, there were several other passages in the law that showed clearly its intent.  And that was at the heart of the majority opinion.

This decision is notable for a couple reasons.  The first is that the decision didn't squeak through, 5-4, but rather passed by a more substantive margin of 6-3, and the majority opinion was written by Chief Justice John Roberts.  Not that the margin had to be "more substantive" or that the Chief Justice had to write the majority opinion.  But it's just a further indication of how much firmer the ground under the ACA is becoming.

Which leads to the second notable point:  this is the second challenge to the Affordable Care Act and both have passed approval by the Supreme Court.  So, although there will always be people complaining about the law -- and most any law -- the complaints hold far less weight for those claiming that the ACA is supposedly unconstitutional.  The Supreme Court, which determines whether something is constitutional or not, has now said, "Yes, it is" -- and said so twice.

No doubt there will be those insisting that "The fight isn't over" and the GOP will still talk about repealing the law.  But of course, talk is cheap, and often empty.  The longer the Affordable Care Act is in operation, the more the public is shown to appreciate it and its benefits -- and the more it's shown how much money the ACA is actually, in very real numbers, saving.

Until the day comes when Republicans show they have an alternative to the Affordable Care Act -- and an alternative that is better -- these empty words are just not going to fly.  Consider how we saw the groundswell of anger on the possibility that 8 million people might lose their coverage.  Imagine now if EVERYONE thought the entire country would be long their coverage.  I'm sure the "fight" isn't over -- just as I'm sure those fighting will be shooting themselves in their collective feet.

Long ago, I wrote about how the biggest mistake Republicans made was calling the Affordable Care Act not by its actual name, but instead "Obamacare."  For a party that since the day of his inauguration met to try to diminish everything that President Obama would do, what they ended up doing here was firmly tying his name to what will likely be seen as his Administration's greatest accomplishment.  And they not only gave it that name, but the name itself, "Obama" and "Care" forever clarify that very fact -- that Obama cares.

By the way, Republicans did have one victory from all this.  If the section of the law had been overturned, intense focus would have been put on the GOP to come up with a way to address the hole it would have created.  And as history has shown, they don't have an answer for that.  So, voter outrage would likely have risen in 2016 against the Republican Party.  As a result, though Republican politicians might be speaking publicly about their "disappointment," the reality is that they are also, in some regards, probably breathing a sigh of relief.

This is not the place for, once again..., defending the ACA and all its benefits, and contradicting complaints about costs.  I've done that repeatedly on these pages, and further, and mostly, it's not my place to defend something that is the law of the land and has twice been upheld by the Supreme Court.  The bottomline is that the Affordable Care Act remains the law.

I have no doubt, too, that the ACA will change, as all laws do over time.  And having said that, my guess is that the biggest changes over time will not be cut backs, but rather ts expansion.
2 Comments
Paul
7/6/2015 11:28:51 pm

What are your thoughts on the Michael Moore film "Sicko"? It made me want to throw up! One day I received correspondence from AARP and decided to see what they were about. Now I know that Wikipedia is not the final word but I found it interesting that a former uppity-up at AARP once said that the best solution to our healthcare issues was a single payer system. I do believe Wikipedia noted he was terminated shortly thereafter.
I attended a town hall meeting (Mullin 2nd district OK-R) where he stated that his main priority was to get the healthcare law overturned...and people applauded. So I sit back and wonder which is it. Racist? Just plain stupid? Brainwashed? Whatever the reason for the applause makes me wonder we can turn it around.
Another interesting tidbit... My brother told me of a friend who just retired from a union job in Chitown. He visited him shortly after and the talk turned to politics. He described this fellow graduate of Tinley Park HS as slightly racist, barely surviving on his pension, and would vote Republican. WTF?



Reply
Robert Elisberg
7/7/2015 10:29:34 am

Honestly, at this point, I don't recall many specifics of "Sicko." But my recollection is that I thought it was quite well-done.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Picture
    Picture
    Elisberg Industries gets a commission if you click here before shopping on Amazon.
    Picture
    Follow @relisberg

    Author

    Robert J. Elisberg is a political commentator, screenwriter, novelist, tech writer and also some other things that I just tend to keep forgetting. 

    Elisberg is a two-time recipient of the Lucille Ball Award for comedy screenwriting. He's written for film, TV, the stage, and two best-selling novels, is a regular columnist for the Writers Guild of America and was for
    the Huffington Post.  Among his other writing, he has a long-time column on technology (which he sometimes understands), and co-wrote a book on world travel.  As a lyricist, he is a member of ASCAP, and has contributed to numerous publications.

    Picture
           Available on Amazon

    Picture
           Available on Amazon

    Picture
           Feedspot Badge of Honor

    Archives

    June 2025
    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013

    Categories

    All
    Animals
    Audio
    Audio Land
    Books
    Business
    Chicago
    Consumer Product
    Education
    Email Interview
    Entertainment
    Environment
    Fine Art
    Food
    From The Management
    Health
    History
    Huffery
    Humor
    International
    Internet
    Journalism
    Law
    Los Angeles
    Media
    Morning News Round Up
    Movies
    Music
    Musical
    Personal
    Photograph
    Piano Puzzler
    Politics
    Popular Culture
    Profiles
    Quote Of The Day
    Radio
    Religion
    Restaurants
    Science
    Sports
    Technology
    Tech Tip
    Theater
    The Writers Workbench
    Tidbits
    Travel
    Tv
    Twitter
    Video
    Videology
    Well Worth Reading
    Words-o-wisdom
    Writing

    RSS Feed

© Copyright Robert J. Elisberg 2025
Contact Us    About EI    Chicago Cubs
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Products
    • Books
    • Movies
  • About Elisberg Industries
    • Our Corporate Board
    • Information Overstock
    • Elisberg Industries Entertainment Information
    • Elisberg Statistical Center of American Research
    • Consultancy Service
  • Contact
    • How to Find Us
  • Kudos
  • Good Things to Know
    • The BOB Page
    • Sites You Might Actually Like