At least once a day I hear another story that makes me wish that stupid was painful. Sometimes it is.
Joan covered this Gallup poll earlier today:
Fifty-six percent of uninsured Americans who plan to get health insurance say they will do so through a government health insurance exchange. That figure has steadily increased since Gallup began tracking uninsured Americans’ intentions in October.
But what struck me most was this:
38% say they are more likely to pay the fine the government will assess most Americans who lack health insurance.
That 38 percent generally approximates the conservative fringe of America, you know, the ones who clung to George W. Bush to the bitter end, the ones who believe Obama was born in Kenya, the ones sickened by America’s creeping communism. There are probably a handful in that 38 percent who are choosing to pay the fine for non-ideological reasons. But there are many more who are doing so to spite the president.
Because, you see, placing yourself at risk of financial ruin, severe disability, or even death is totally worth it in pursuit of undermining the communist plot hatched at the Heritage Foundation. It’s like eating crappy, unhealthy fast food in order to spite liberals. Or refusing to exercise because Michelle Obama.
I worry about people hurting themselves and their families for no good reason, but I do not worry about these yahoos endangering the Affordable Care Act. How long do you think Bette in Spokane, Washington will stay off the exchanges because she hates Democrats? A year? Even if a person does not need medical care, and it sounds like Bette and her family does, living without insurance will wear a person down. Nobody wants to hope and pray that you make it through each day without a surprise that leaves you bankrupt and homeless (pdf). Some people really will go all the way for Glenn Beck. Thankfully most, even the dumb angry ones, have better things to do. Color me shocked if less than ninety percent of these political holdouts get insurance and move on with their life before the next Congress takes office.