The Social Security Act was passed in 1935. It was a monumental piece of legislation and its immediate effect was to lift millions from the edge of poverty. As early as 1936, the GOP began a fight to repeal the Social Security Act – a fight which in several ways, continues until today.
Nonetheless, in spite of two GOP administrations stealing funds from the Trust, it survives and millions of the elderly and disabled are kept from destitution.
The Affordable Care Act was passed in 2010. It, too, was a monumental piece of legislation designed to bring access to affordable health care to all across the board. It was, admittedly, flawed form the beginning, with certain critical compromises made , one suspects, in order to at least get it passed with the aim of adjusting or amending it down the road. However, with the turn of the election, prompted by a major smear campaign, the Act was never adjusted and the flaws took their toll. Key to it all was the ability to opt out for two key components – the states, who could opt out of Medicaid expansion and the insurance companies, who could opt out of providing “essential services”. Both these elements were critical to the success of the ACA but the insurance lobby had its way. Eliminating the “Public Option” was also a key contributor to weakening the Act and so, the drive to repeal it began as soon as the 2010 election was over. Just as in the case of the Social Security Act, the GOP immediately began to push for the repeal of the ACA and, instead of discussing and debating with the purpose to amend, the House spent the better part of its energy – unsuccessfully, one should add, trying to repeal the ACA, calling for a floor vote over fifty times. The votes were strictly along party lines but the Act remained.

One needs to ask the question – what is it that makes the GOP so against safety nets, and in this case, access to affordable health care ? Was it, and is it still their record disdain for the then President Obama – a black, highly educated, articulate and engaged president ? Was it their need to take adequate care of the huge health insurance companies whose contributions keep them in office ?

Enter a new administration, led by a complete incompetent who started years ago with his attacks on President Obama, being a principal in the whole “birther” movement. The hallmark of his campaign was that he would immediately repeal the Affordable Care Act, only later taking on the added dimension of repeal and replace. His “promise” was to have better, lower cost health coverage for everyone. Not likely, as it turns out.
What it all ended up being was a floor fight of epic proportions among the GOP members. On the one side, the far far right so called conservatives who are full bent on repealing the ACA and making health care only accessible to those who can afford it. Sort of along the same lines as automobile insurance, without the discounts. This would include the complete repeal of Medicaid, health care support to approximately seventy-four million people. And on the other side, the moderates who, while wanting to reduce the debt and the debt ceiling, still are not willing to crush so many millions of people, especially those who are already receiving health insurance either through Medicaid or through Medicaid expansion under the ACA. The democrats, in this battle, simply do not figure as, by the numbers, the GOP can swing a vote majority all on their own.
The vote finally passed on the second introduction, laden with scary amendments, and then went to the Senate where the fight continues even though in the final floor vote, it failed once again. In the meantime, out on the street corners, people – some people – are awakening to the fact that many could very well lose their health insurance completely. The storm is continuing and even the strategy has taken a major shift from the campaign promise to repeal and replace to simple repeal and possibly replace down the road a year or two – probably after the next mid term election.
However, while one tries to follow all the ups and downs over health care and the fate of the ACA, one needs to ask the question – just what is the real agenda here. What one needs to look at is the ever present GOP agenda to have the top ten per cent pay little or nothing in taxes, contribute next to nothing to the betterment of the nation as a community and lay the burden of enlarging the wealth inequality even more.
If one takes a close look at the so called “American Health Care Act”, it is full of conflict and hidden agenda. It will cause the ending of insurance coverage for over twenty-three million people over the next several years, will defund Planned Parenthood, will accent the use of HSAs and will repeal all the taxes put in place by the Affordable Care Act.
One can see not only the drive to reduce the deficit by penalizing those who vulnerable populations which receive public dollar support – children, the elderly, the disabled – but will add to the coffers of that upper ten per cent by reducing the tax rates. In spite of the CBO scoring, the push is still on, under the guise of loyally fulfilling a campaign promise – one steeped in lunacy – to enhance earnings of the money crowd and step on the opportunities for every one else. Perhaps it is truly a conspiracy to pander to the upper ten per cent and as the same time, make quality health care accessible only to those who can afford it while their major contributors, the insurance companies continue to bilk the public with exorbitant fees and costs. Unfortunate that, in order to stay in office, the GOP has elected to punish the elderly, the disabled and  the children