Think Progress, the propaganda arm of that extension of the White House, the Center for American Progress, is celebrating the announcement that enrollments for Obamacare insurance policies are steadily climbing — especially among those 26-34.
In some encouraging news for the health law, 27 percent of people who picked new health plans in January are aged 18 to 34. That’s a three percentage point rise from the first three months, when less than one in four Americans who chose health plans were from that age group, and tracks with administration projections that young Americans’ enrollment in Obamacare will continue to spike as the initial six-month enrollment period comes to a close on March 31.
Past evidence from Massachusetts’s own health reform law also supports that notion. About 27 percent of people who signed up in August, a comparable point in Massachusetts’ enrollment period, were in the 18 to 34 age group.The new federal data shows that young adult enrollment spiked by 65 percent in January compared to a 53 percent increase among all other age groups.
The new Gallup survey released on Wednesday also found that the uninsurance rate among adults aged 26 to 34 has been declining faster than the uninsurance rate for the rest of the population. Less people reported being insured through their employer while more Americans said they had individual health policies or Medicaid — an indication that the fall in the uninsurance rate is being prompted by the ACA.
They don’t get it, do they? It is not news that people are signing up for Obamacare — young or old. It’s the law of the land, hence, purchasing insurance is not an affirmative act in support of the law. Do we keep stats on the number of people who come to a complete stop at stop signs?
It would be news if people were not signing up for Obamacare — a defiant act of non-participation. But an ever hopeful diarist at Daily Kos is excited that “Obamacare could be making a difference”:
Additionally, Sarah Kliff finds what might be a couple of telling data points to suggest Obamacare could be making a difference. There were upticks in people reporting they had received insurance through Medicaid (from 6.6 to 7.4 percent) or the individual market (17.2 to 18 percent) since the last quarter. Those purchasing on the individual market would likely be using the exchanges. That’s the kind of trend you’d expect to see from new enrollments because of the law.
It’s also the kind of trend that strikes fear in the heart of Republicans. If this keeps up, they’ll never be able to repeal the law and take that health insurance away.
Celebrating coercion is nothing new for the left. A couple of years ago, the former stock touter/astrology loon Matt Stoller waxed poetic about paying his taxes:
I just paid my taxes, and I have to say, I always take pride when I do so. I don’t like having less money to spend, of course, and the complexity of the process is really upsetting. But I am proud to pay for democracy, and I feel when I do send money to the DC Treasurer and the US Treasury that that is what I am doing. The right-wing likes to pretend as if taxes are a burden instead of the price of democracy. And I suppose, if you hate democracy, as the right-wing does, then taxes are the price for paying for something you really don’t want. Personally, I find banking fees, high cable and internet charges, health care costs, and credit card hidden charges much more abrasive than taxes, because with those I’m just being ripped off to pay for someone’s summer home.
Gag me. Just as an aside, bank fees and internet charges are a choice. You don’t have to pay them. You can choose not to bank or go on the internet. Try making that argument with the IRS.
My response to Stoller included the same question about stop signs I asked above.
I’m very happy he appreciates living in a democracy. So do I. But the taxes he so happily and proudly parts with are collected by perhaps the most undemocratic, oppressive, out of control, nightmare of a bureaucracy our republic has ever known.
Tens of thousands of citizens have fallen under the wheels of the IRS juggernaut only to have their lives ruined, their assets seized, their freedom threatened – all because either the citizen made an honest mistake or, more likely, the IRS itself erred and refused to acknowledge it.
When liberals like Stoller make noises of satisfaction like an infant who has just soiled their diaper just because they obeyed the law one wonders what lefties like our Matt do when they come to a complete stop at a stop sign. The celebrations must go on far into the night.
News that businesses have to swear an oath of fealty to the government that they won’t protect their own livelihoods by firing employees and cutting their hours because of Obamacare, you have to wonder why anyone who loves liberty would be celebrating the advancement of this, the most coercive law in American history. We have gone from a Constitution that says to government “Thou Shalt Not” to a government that tells citizens “Thou Must Do.” I see nothing to celebrate or be satisfied with that.
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