There is quite the activity going on in our country at the moment, so I thought I’d start letting my opinions fly under the category “Politics”. It is no secret that I am a Democrat, and that I support health insurance reform. That is not what this post is about. It’s a long one…I hope you make it to the end!
The other day, I awoke to Mindy telling me that Healthcare passed. I thought, “Hmmm…health insurance for everyone…this should be a pretty good thing!” When I checked my Facebook page the next day, I learned that there were many who did not feel this was a good thing. So I made a few arguments, and then after work, I did what any self-respecting Democrat would do….I turned on Fox News Radio for the ride home….WAIT…WHAT!
As a Democrat, I like to be informed, so I figured what better way to find out what the perceived problems are in the bill, than to listen to the people who are against it, and see what they have to say. I heard all sorts of good stuff like: “We need to get these MORONS out of office!”, “Obamacare will ruin our country”, “The socialist screwballs have taken our freedom away” etc, etc. My my my…those ARE compelling arguments against the bill, what a great way to reinforce your base. You have successfully turned the American people against the bill…well…at least the people who were already against it to begin with! There I was driving along, really trying to make up my mind about this legislation…perhaps even CHANGE my mind about it, and instead of hearing thoughts on why it was bad, I was being called a stupid democrat.
The next day, I tried again. I was shocked. There was actually a right-wing radio host that was giving me real information, and even some solutions. He said the bill was over 2000 pages? “Wow” I thought. “They probably didn’t read it all the way through before the vote” Then a senator called in and talked about the Republican plan to contest certain parts of the bill. “Hmmm…I can understand that. I am sure in the 2000+ pages, there are probably some things that could be altered”. I was ready to hear more. I was finally getting some specific information on the problems with the bill…and then it was time for a new show. The Hugh Hewitt show. (I think this is the same guy from yesterday).
This bill, according to Republicans is filled with junk. Un-American! Socialist! Going to destroy our country! So which one of the 2000 pages does Mr. Hewitt pick to illustrate the destruction of America?.... The 10% tax on tanning! NICE! He started taking callers.
“How much do you pay for tanning?” he asks.
“About $5.00/ session” was answered.
“NOT ANYMORE!!! Now you’re payin’ $5.50!!” says the host.
Careful Hugh…you may just sway me here…I was completely in favor of Americans being able to afford to go to a doctor…that was until you enlightened me to the fact that people are going to have to pay more for tanning. You are starting to convince me that this is a BAD THING!
He went on: “These taxes are going to put these little tanning companies out of business. The profit margins on these places are small…and the government is going to just reach in and take 10% of their hard earned money”.
That is when I immediately turned a deaf ear to Mr. Hewitt. He either purposely distorted facts to further enrage people OR he is just stupid and doesn’t understand how taxes work. Yes, they will have to pay 10% of the money taken in…but they will be collecting 10% more from their customers. It is a wash. They will not be paying any of their money to the government.
He could argue that the tax was unfair and the government was taking hard earned money from the people of New Jersey. (Fake tans…get it?)
He could argue that people will stop going to these businesses because they have to pay $0.50 more, and therefore the companies will go out of business.
He could argue that the tanning business will have to provide healthcare for their employees, and that they would not be able to afford it.
Instead, he misrepresented facts, and attempted to scare people by saying that the government was taking money directly from the business owners’ pockets…which is simply not true based on his tax argument.
Now that my little illustration is complete, I will give you my point. My problem with the Republican Party is not necessarily their conservative views. I actually agree (to an extent) that the government is getting too big. My problem is not that they oppose this particular healthcare bill. My problem is that the faces and voices of the party have no concern for making this country better. Their only concern is winning and being in power. They lie, they misrepresent, and they strike fear and anger into their followers. They do everything in their power to turn Americans against each other. (And they are supposed to be the party of “Christian Values”…that’s another post)
If you are a Republican, you should be enraged too...wouldn’t you rather have people on air representing your viewpoints with facts and educated arguments that might actually change opponents’ minds? This country has quite a few people. It has just as many opinions as people…maybe even more. There is NO WAY everybody will ever totally agree, and if the Republican Party only wants people who 100% agree with them, they are not long for this world.
Commence arguments now…I’d love to hear them!
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Completely unrelated but one of my biggest pet peeves is related to tanning...yes you struck a nerve here...tanning. So the US imposses "sin taxes" on all kinds of things from beer to cigarettes (and a might hefyy tax that is, at less on cigarettes). The purpose of these taxes is to actually deter consumption of things, as in the case of cigarettes, that are absolutely known to kill you. Valid...make sense...all for it. As an ex-smoker I will tell you that cigarettes hitting $7 a pack (they are much more now, I realize) was a major factor in my decision to quit. In addition to the large sin tax on smokes, there's also a prohibition on most forms of advertizing and an age limit on who can consume this extremely dangerous product. Im with you gov't keep up the good work. Now we go to tanning....also something that serves no purpose whatsever like smoking (if I get a vitamin D arguement I will scream), and is known to cause an even more dangerous cancer than smoking, however there is no large deterring tax, there is no prohibition on advertizing and even worse, there is no age limit on the consumer. In fact, tanning is specifically marketed to teenagers. We see all of the time that tan is beautiful, a notion that a lot of Afrian countries who spend their time trying to bleach there skin would find apalling (grass is always greener eh). Anyway, where are the regulations here? I wish that this %10 tax on tanning WAS real. Unfortunately as Ryan points out...it's not. I wish there was an enormous cigarette like tax on tanning, I wish there were bans on advertising, I wish there were criminal penalties for marketing their product to children and I most certainly wish there was an age limit imposed. But alas..there is not. I guess it's good that we all have healthcare now..when those pesky melanomas pop up all over jersey (blame Ryan for the Jersey reference) at least they can see a dermatologist to try to get rid of them...if it's not too late that is.....
ReplyDeleteDo you think that the American people really want to listen to intelligent, informed comments? I bet that the Sunday morning news discussions do not get nearly the ratings that Glenn Beck and others of his ilk enjoy. That's entertainment! Sensationalism, selected facts, and distorted "understandings" are popular. I have difficulty answering the question: Do you agree with...? because it's nearly impossible to sort through the muck to find what's true. "Truth", that slippery concept, seems to vary more with each passing day.
ReplyDeleteKeep writing, Ryan. I'll look.
M. Strawbridge