Obamacare Unites Americans—In Dismay at Government Suckage

We liked health care better the
old way, a majority of Americans say when
asked by Reason-Rupe pollsters about Obamacare. Across the
board, Americans disapprove of the president’s handling of health
care issues, have little faith in politicians’ ability to manage
the provision of medicine, and don’t think healthy, younger
Americans should be treated as milking cows to subsidize coverage
for older and sicker people. In fact, Americans generally agree
that the chief executive and Congress alike have amply demonstrated
that government is something of a deadweight hanging from the
country’s neck.

Americans still seem divided on what they wish
government could do for them. When asked whether they believed “the
less government the better” or “there are more things government
should be doing,” exactly 48 percent of respondents pick each one.
But when pushed to say whether “government is primarily a source of
good” or “is generally a burdensome part of society that impedes
the ability of people to improve their lives,” 54 percent said
government is a big friggin’ hurdle that bangs your shins every
time.

That’s the difference between hoping for a
unicorn, but admitting that you’re only ever going to get a
goat.

And what a goat. The launch of the Affordable Care Act has done
wonders to firm up the public’s opinion of government
(in)competence. Fifty-three percent of respondents have an
unfavorable opinion of the law after its jaw-droppingly flawed
debut, with a 47 percent plurality saying it has decreased their
confidence in government’s ability to solve problems.

Overall, 55 percent say they prefer the system that was in place
prior to passage of the 2010 federal health care law over
Obamacare—you know, the system that everybody used to hate before
they discovered it could get worse.

And it’s not just the general outline; the details of the health
care law turn people off, too. Majorities oppose prohibiting health
insurance companies from denying coverage or charging some
customers higher premiums based on pre-existing conditions, oppose
requiring younger, healthier people to pay more for health
insurance to subsidize care for others, and think low-cost,
bare-bones policies of the sort prohibited by the ACA should be
allowed.

Not surprisingly, after their interesting performances in recent
years, Congress and the president both get lousy marks for their
handling of health issues.

If the president liked high marks for transparency, maybe he
could have kept them by not snowing the public with phony
assurances about his signature policy achievement. As it is, a
majority of Americans think he was pulling their legs when he
claimed to preside over the “most transparent administration in
history.”

Well, if you want to see how something performs, there’s nothing
like a laboratory experiment. Too bad the whole damned country is a
laboratory for government suckage.

If only somebody had some ideas for reforming health care

without treating people like milking cows or idiot
children.

More poll results here
(PDF).