Former friends of Obamacare keep discovering that the law treats them as enemies.
Three years after Obama signed the Affordable Care Act, Kinsey Robinson, president of United Union of Roofers, Waterproofers and Allied Workers International, says that many provisions “were not fully conceived, resulting in unintended consequences . . . inconsistent with the promise that those who were satisfied with their employer-sponsored coverage could keep it.”
Robinson worries that members who now enjoy multi-employer health plans through the union will lose both benefits and employment as Obamacare goes into effect. Small contractors not required to offer insurance coverage under the law will enjoy an unfair bidding advantage. So he now calls for “repeal or complete reform” of Obamacare. (Let’s do the repeal, then restart with the right reforms.)
I’m no fan of unions, which have too often acted to quash competition in the labor market. But as long as unions exist, if they’re going to oppose something, let Obamacare top the list until it is gone.
No doubt many more expressions of shock and dismay await us as people discover the consequences of the law. In 2010, then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi declared that the health care bill had to be passed so we could learn what was in it; after which, free of the fog of partisan debate, we’d all come to understand at last that lumbering Big Brother is indeed our very best friend.
We’re finding out alright, we’re discovering that with friends like BB, and Pelosi, who needs fiends?
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.
6 replies on “Unions versus Obamacare”
We need health care in America; no doubt. But 2700 page law & 9000 pages of regulations – that no one understands – is not the answer. As far as unions are concerned, I was a member of the Writers’ Guild for years & am grateful to the benefits that I have reaped. If a person CHOOSES to join a union, that is their right to be a part of a bargaining collective. If a person can not work because of a union, that is against our American liberties.
I am glad that several of the big unions are now complaining since they wholly supported Mr. Obama, despite the wishes of many union members. That ability for a union to back a candidate / cause without voting consensus by its members, should be made illegal.
Same crap sandwich as Hillarycare, just a different wrapping. And we get the same again in 2016 when they try to swap out Obama for Hillary.
ANY MENAINGFUL LEGISLATION SHOULD INCLUDE THE PRESIDENT, HIS/HER FAMILY; AND ALL MEMBERS OF CONGRESS–NOT EXEMPT THEM, AS DOES OBAMACARE.
And that is for starters.
Jay,
Congress is considering exempting its own grunt-level congressional staffers from Obamacare. It seems their employers are discovering how much it’s going to cost the poor dears! (Better late than never, I suppose?)
I hope the whole government gets charged for violating our civil rights with its scare tactics I hate everyone of those me, myself and I, ugly ugly ugly people,and hope they truely get what they deserve out of life sent to another galazy maybe
Politicians have been selling free lunches for campaign cash, favors and votes (free in the sense that politicians say 1) it won’t cost anything and 2) if someone has to pay for it, it won’t be you, and instead it’ll be the rich or some other taxpayer).
That people fell for Obama’s free lunch pitch (actually “free” healthcare) and his promises to “bend the cost curve down”, “you can keep your health plan” and “your medical decisions will be made by you and doctors, not bureaucrats” just shows people are happy to use government to steal for their desires.
And those who think getting in bed with government (like making a deal with the Mafia) will benefit them, sometimes learn that it’s a deal you’re better off refusing, because they will ask for something from you later. The government will take your liberty and your money, after they’ve done you a favor (leaving you a little to live on), just like the Mafia.
Getting in bed with government is a dangerous proposition, because they have all the power, while you have only 1 vote.