Hi there. Yesterday I got to be a part of the health care bill signing. It was powerful, and I was there because of you all, so I thought I would share some of the photos from the event and a few comments.
Despite what I was starting to fear, big things can happen in DC, elections really matter, and nothing gets done (especially done in a way we like) unless young people are involved.
For me personally, this was a moral issue – that it be a right for all Americans to have access to quality health care. And that, for young people, this access be fair and affordable. We fought HARD to make sure you all could stay on your parents plan till age 26. Also, that no one can be turned away for being a woman or having a pre-existing condition. And, that there are subsidies and expansion of medicaid and other measure to keep the costs low. These things are now LAW, and that is pretty amazing.
The war for health care in America that is fair and just and has all the pieces that we want in it implemented is going to be a long one, but yesterday marked the end of the first battle, was a great first step, and I am proud of the role we all played.
From reading the blog, you all have a lot to say and valid opinions. This issue is not going away, so keep discussing, call your members of congress, express your gratitude and/or concerns. Legislating on this and other issues is an on-going effort.
But, for today, I am going to celebrate this first step that fundamentally changed the landscape around health care in our country, a first step to fixing a broken status quo.
Enjoy the pics.
Jeremy, Natalie and Sam: Three people who worked hard to make reforming health care a reality.
Ari Matusiak and Natasha Bowens of Young Invincibles
Reverend Al Sharpton
President Obama take the stage
President Obama addressing the crowd at the Department of the Interior
Tags: Biden, bill signing, health care reform, heather smith, Obama, rock the vote
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Jason Bio: Email the author at: blog(at)rockthevote.com |
I’m glad you got to be there. It’s history in the making. However, what a waste of energy. Great idea. Great moral and principal but very poor in execution. “The road to hell was paved with good intentions.” Heard that one?
Americans have access to health care. It’s already required that hospitals provide services. Insurance or no.
Health insurance isn’t hard to get. The thing is, folks want to work under the table for cash instead of earning an honest living like the rest of us. They want health care? Well, get on payroll and work for a company that offers it. Noone forced them to work illegally, evade taxes and choose to take a job that didn’t offer insurance. Sure, there are extenuating circumstances. There always is. But that’s the exception, not the rule.
Group policy’s prohibit the exclusion of pre-existing conditions. Any employer would fall in this category. So, if they need that coverage, they need to work for an employer that offers insurance. And NOT sabotage those that do by voting for a silly bill that will undermine the system.
Who are you to tell me that I have to buy insurance? Or require me to pay for someone else’s?
Folks want to sit on their rear ends instead of working. They want hand outs. They feel entitled. You tell me, did welfare help the black community? Or did it hinder? There was no motivation for them to succeed. The white politicians were buying their silence with an entitlement program. Shame on them too. (Mr. Carter) And Black politicians embraced it as expanding those entitlement programs got them voted in to office.
Before you pull the evangelical liberal card on me know this: I am a minority, high school drop out from a VERY poor community in Oklahoma. Please google Fox, OK or Tatums, OK. Read the census report on the demographics and income level.
But you know what? I moved away, developed a work ethic and now have a good job with benefits. I….ME….myself…Made my future instead of waiting for the hand outs from the government and the Socialist currently in charge.
LUCK had nothing to do with it. Birth and ethnicity definitely did not.
You look very young. I’m sure you mean well and feel pationate about your view. I was too in my early 20′s. Then, I got older, moved in to management rolls where I saw the books and how the numbers worked and later, had a family. I watched as, the more I made, the more was taken. The more I learned about where it went, the more disgusted I became until I went from traditional Southern, Yellow Dog Democrat to Conservative Independent voting mostly Republican. Democrats of today are not comparible to FDR or JFK. Those men stood for something.
Socialism fails. Especially when comprised of Facist politics.
Congratlulations, you just had the honor of rubbing elbows with the most prominent group of Poverty Pimps the world has ever known. Hey, at least your participating. That’s more than most can say.