It’s been said that humor brings insight and tolerance where irony brings a deeper and less friendly understanding. United Here, a union representing 300,000 workers, has discovered unhealthy levels of irony in the Affordable Care Act. The union takes notice that the Obama administration is trying to shift the conversation away from the health care law to friendly Democrat issues such as income inequality. The irony, as they call it, is that the ACA will actually worsen income inequality.
The Irony of ObamaCare: Making Inequality Worse
The promise of Obamacare was the right one and the hope for extending healthcare coverage to the un-and under-insured a step in the right direction. Yet the unintended consequences will hit the average, hard-working American where it hurts: in the wallet. Currently a national dialogue is emerging by all political parties on the issue of income inequality. That is a debate worth having. The White House and Congressional Democrats are “resetting” the domestic agenda following the negative fallout from the rollout of the ACA. They plan to shift focus from health care to bread and butter issues of income inequality that have eroded the American paycheck for decades.
Ironically, the Administration’s own signature healthcare victory poses one of the most immediate challenges to redressing inequality. Yes, the Affordable Care Act will help many more Americans gain some health insurance coverage, a significant step forward for equality. At the same time, without smart fixes, the ACA threatens the middle class with higher premiums, loss of hours, and a shift to part-time work and less comprehensive coverage.
The unions have been trying to spare their Cadillac health insurance plans as others have been spared.
UNITE HERE represents 300,000 workers in hotels, food service and gaming nationwide. Many receive benefits through UNITE HERE Health’s Taft-Hartley funds. If employers follow the incentives in Obamacare, the hospitality industry will face labor strife, UNITE HERE members from around the nation will face pay cuts to keep good coverage, and the funds that deliver innovative care to thousands of service workers will be destroyed.
These are toxic levels of irony for the Democrats.
Related: ObamaCare will hasten income inequality, union report says
And there’s potential for even more liberal irony. This last weekend, a California Democrat said that some people are too rich. Wonder how that will play out. George Soros too rich? Mike Bloomberg? Nancy Pelosi? Head of NBC/Comcast? etc…
http://washingtonexaminer.com/democrats-latest-approach-to-income-inequality-some-people-are-just-too-rich/article/2545404