Obamacare Laid Bare - Charles Krauthammer - Essay Example

Obamacare Laid Bare - Charles Krauthammer (Reaction/Response Paper) The article, Obamacare laid bare, written by Charles Krauthammer, scrutinizes on US president Obama’s healthcare legislation, called the Obamacare. The main issues addressed by the author pertain to the three pillars of Obamacare, which include mendacity, paternalism, and subterfuge that came as a result of its cancellation. The article expresses some persuasive arguments on the issue of implementing such legislation in spite of the author’s skeptical approach when he cited that the plan of cancelling Obama’s health care program would be an obscure regulation. Krauthammer argued that the said plan is at the core of the president’s mind to regulate and standardize the US national health insurance system at the federal government. Apparently, the enforcement of Obamacare is a national issue that stimulates a wide range of political debate given that such law is perceived as a means of transporting enormous amount of wealth under the present American political system. Despite this perception, US government officials cannot fully express the benefits associated with the health care policy so they could avoid the risk of losing in the elections. As such is the case, they merely implement the law through deception being carried out in the form of hidden taxes, mandates, and penalties that generate excessive payments. Although Obamacare seems to be beneficial since it imposes an affordable health care program, the vested interests of government officials will only heighten the clamor of the citizens to eliminate the cancellation of the law. It seems that majority of the Americans considered the legislation as unfavorable knowing that they will only face an additional burden of financial responsibilities. This is particularly unfair for those Americans who have low income considering that most political leaders support the law only to exercise political control and influence of governing their nation’s wealth. The disadvantages of Obamacare only outweigh its advantages as the cancelled policies are more politically-driven in falsifying the essential nature of implementing the law. Certainly, the insurance buyers would later on realize that their taxes and premiums have been raised. For the overall discussion, it is imperative to note that Krauthammer made strong arguments against the health care policies imposed under the Obama administration. As an opinion, however, I strongly agree with the author’s claim that “Obamacare is the largest transfer of wealth in recent American history.” This would be an indication that people will have to pay more taxes to secure their health insurance. Also, the government officials are more likely to abuse their political authority using the taxes contributed by the people. While they may lose their credibility toward the American electorate who supported them during the election period, those corrupt officials have already benefited from their hidden political agenda provided under the law. Consequently, the controversies of Obamacare exposed by the media would also challenge the policy-making of the US healthcare system since in the first place the regulation of the law already seemed to be unconstitutional. It only defeats the purpose of having an affordable health insurance and depriving the citizens of their freedom to some extent as they may be forced to purchase an insurance that will only satisfy the vested interests of corrupt politicians. Work Cited Krauthammer, Charles. “Obamacare Laid Bare.” Washington Post 01 Nov. 2013: Print. Pot Push in D.C. May Spur Congress to Weigh Legalizing - Michael Bender (Reaction/ Response Paper) The campaign against legalizing marijuana is a significant policy reform movement in the American society and criminal justice system. The article, Pot Push in D.C. May Spur Congress to Weigh Legalizing by Michael Bender talks about the possibility of legalizing the use of marijuana, which is supported by a proposal from the council members of the District of Columbia. The assumptions made by the author were expressed in terms of gaining support from the advocates once the recreational use of the drug becomes legalized. Other assumptions pertain to the opposition of the federal government, the racial disparity between the White and Black Americans who use marijuana and the potential impact of legalization in the market. The issue of legalizing the recreational use of marijuana proposes to reduce the criminal penalties or sanctions of using prohibited drugs. With this assertion, most Americans especially the proponents and legislators of some states favor the legalization of marijuana, which is increasingly gaining support from drug users. In fact, 76% of doctors in the world also supported the legalization for medicinal purposes, and about 48% of American adults were reported to have been using it (Bender). However, the US government strongly opposes the move to legalize marijuana as this can severely cause mental-health problems, and may pose threats to public health and safety. The presence of racial disparity between the whites and blacks could also provoke the Congress to legalize the use of marijuana given that the said proposal would reduce the number of users having a criminal record. Although the author did not clearly state his stand on whether he favors or opposes the legalization of marijuana, it could be implied that legalizing the use of marijuana is still under public scrutiny as the Congress may have to consider its repercussions in the American society. In my opinion, legalizing marijuana is not the proper move to decriminalize small amounts of using the prohibited drug since this would only lessen the penalties for drug possession and criminal arrests. It must also be noted that legalization and decriminalization are two different things to consider in the policy reforms against drug abuse. Between the two, I think decriminalization is the better option than legalization as this may reduce the level of crime rate which is largely due to an irresponsible consumption of prohibited drugs. Thus, it is also equally important for the US policy makers to weigh other options before legalizing it so as to create a positive and fair criminal justice system. In general, an interesting aspect of the entire discussion of the article is that the author clearly provided an adequate information on the recent move toward policy reforms in legalizing the use of prohibited drugs particularly marijuana. However, the issue would have been better presented if the author further incorporated the strengths and weaknesses of legalizing marijuana especially to those states that supported the proposal. Work Cited Bender, Michael. “Pot Push in D.C. May Spur Congress to Weigh Legalizing.” Bloomberg 01 Nov. 2013: Print. Read More