Switched-On :: Blog

It’s come a long way amid all the protests. The bill for Healthcare Reform passed just this past Saturday in the US House of Representatives. It is one of the most hotly debated topics in politics today. What is most controversial to people is the so-called “public option” that would give Americans the option of being covered by government funded insurance.

Some people are entirely against healthcare reform, while others (dis)agree with parts of what has been proposed in the bill. It’s difficult to summarize what different sides agree on and don’t agree on because there are a lot of controversies connected to the issue. There are certain groups in the Congress who are at odds over abortion coverage (among other things), for example, while others are concerned about the cost of the bill (if passed) to the government.

What do you think? Do you support the healthcare reform bill?

- Allyson

Depending on how in tune you are to the nation’s legislative branch, you may or may not know that the House of Representatives just passed a healthcare bill. Presumably, it’ll make some meaningful changes in our healthcare system. I say presumably because it’s 2,000 pages, and that’s a lot to print. Honestly though, it makes me skeptical that anything could take 2,000 pages to write out. Yeah, healthcare is complicated, but shouldn’t reform be about making it simpler? Plus, when something is longer than “War and Peace”, and probably harder to read, I don’t even expect lawmakers to be able to read it. That means that either they get unlucky aides to make them cliff notes, or they vote without reading the bill. Either way, one would think that’s not the optimal process for shaping one of the nation’s biggest bills. What’s more, it makes me cringe to think of the tree mutilation that resulted from distributing this massive brick of legislation to all the representatives.

- Will

After reading the transcript of the president’s recent back-to-school speech, I couldn’t find anything even remotely controversial in his words. I’m not sure what is so controversial about encouraging students to stay in school and to work hard in school so that they’ll find success later in life. Maybe to certain people, the very idea of a child raised in disadvantaged conditions growing up to be a successful lawyer, doctor, politician, and so on is frightening? I really am not sure. From my understanding, there has never been this much “controversy” surrounding a president’s address to students on their first day of school.

Are the people who are crying foul over the president’s words just trying to stir up something for attention? I’m still at a slight loss over this supposed “controversy”. I believe there was even a governor who criticized President Obama’s speech before he actually delivered it. Did he get an advanced copy? Did he travel through time? I’m sad that politics in the US has stooped to this level. I honestly thought the people who were “criticizing” Obama’s speech might actually articulate some of the criticisms some of us may have over his education plan, but no, it’s really just over his delivering the speech in the first place (the speech which really isn’t that “radical” or “socialist”!).  There is way too much anger in politics these days…

- Allyson

*The opinions of Switched-On bloggers are their own, and do not reflect the opinions of the staff, board, or volunteers of the National Runaway Switchboard.