Wednesday, March 4, 2020

Will your Obamacare save you from the Trumpvirus?


Words matter. 

If a job posting says a job requires a "rock star" more men than women will apply.  Say a job requires a "passion for learning" and you will attract more women than men.  And, if you use jargon  such as "synergy" or "push the envelope" fewer non-whites will respond.  (Miller, 2016)

So it's interesting that the Affordable Care Act, ACA for short, has become widely known as Obamacare.  The name might have started out as a negative, but for the millions of people who now have affordable healthcare Obamacare is definitely a positive.

Unfortunately the drumbeat of fake news has meant that the number of uninsured has gone up by seven million since Trump became president. (Kliff,2019)

Trump has also eliminated a NSC position to coordinate responses to pandemics and slashed budgets at the CDC and Department of Health and  Human Services.  He has proposed a 53% cut to the World Health Organization this year - you know, the ones who are actually fighting this virus.  (Reich, 2020)

Therefore it seems only fair that he own the situation he created, so I agree with Gail Collins of The New York Times, lets call it what it is - the Trumpvirus.  (Collins, 2020)

And here's hoping it doesn't kill us all.


Miller, C. (2016, February 26)  Is Blind Hiring the Best Hiring?  nytimes. com.  Retrieved March 3, 2020, from  http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/28/magazine/is-blind-hiring-the-best-hiring.html?_r=0

Kliff, S.  (2019, January 23)  Under Trump, the number of uninsured Americans has gone up by 7 million. vox.com.  Retrieved March 3, 2020, from https://www.vox.com/2019/1/23/18194228/trump-uninsured-rate-obamacare-medicaid

Reich, R. (2020, March 1)  Coronavirus is bad enough - Trump's cuts have made the danger far worse.  theguardian.com.  Retrieved March 3, 2020, from

Collins, G. (2020, February 26)  Let's Call It Trumpvirus.  nytimes.com.  Retrieved March 3, 2020, from  https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/26/opinion/coronavirus-trump.html

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