Fifty Shades of Pain: How Obamacare Will Slowly Strangle America

By Chris Markham

“Fifty Shades of Pain: How Obama Care Will Slowly Strangle America” examines fifty of our professions, actions and pursuits, describing how each will be affected, diluted and obliterated by Obama Care. From Sports, to Doctors to Driving to Sex, “Fifty Shades of Pain: How Obama Care Will Slowly Strangle America” provides how the most important legislative initiative of our time will end up destroying our way of life, our culture and our country.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Feb 20, 2013
• ISBN: 9781483523118

Book preview

that².

Shade One

Introduction

I’ve always been fascinated with post-apocalyptic movies and books. These works of art usually show two sets of people: the haves and the have-nots. The haves live in walled off compounds with every luxury imaginable, while the have-nots live in shacks made of cardboard and tin³. Whenever I watch these types of movies (or read said books) I wonder how the rift between the two classes happened, how did it get that bad and what happened to all of the people in the middle⁴?

I don’t think I have to wonder any longer. I believe that we’re in the beginning of the lower and upper classes separating with the middle class being eliminated. In other words, we are well on our way to the post-apocalyptic future in which I’ve long been interested. Further, I believe that we are beginning to see the separation between the 99% in the 1%, and rather than trying to bridge that gap it seems as though we are only making it wider. And despite all evidence and protestations to the contrary I believe Obama care is, and will be, one of the driving forces in making this happen.

I think this for a bunch of reasons. First, there are a number of people that are going to lose their jobs, lose the security of their jobs, or become basically hourly employees or independent contractors as a result of the Affordable Health Care Act. Doctors, attorneys, healthcare workers, insurance professionals⁵ - a great many of those people will find themselves out of work over the next couple of years because of the changes Obama care will engender. A significant swath of our whole professional class will be wiped out⁶.

Second, this country was began on a can-do work ethic. It also was founded on the basis that social status and financial status are fluid. You can go up the ladder or down the ladder, or both, throughout your lifetime. As we will see in other Shades, this does not happen in other countries. You’re born to the caste in which you will remain for the rest of your life. There really is no such thing as upward mobility - socially or financially - unless of course you come up with the next big Web or software idea. However, the chances of that happening are about as good as either winning the lottery or getting hit by lightning⁷.

Obama care is going to change all that. No longer will we have to work hard in school and struggle and pay our dues to get good paying jobs with benefits – benefits will already be right there for us and provided by the government, so there’s really no incentive to try and escape the caste that you’re currently in. That is a tragedy⁸. We’ve done so much over the past 200 years to prove that we as Americans are better than the people of other countries in being able to recognize the individual and the individual’s hard work as opposed to the individual’s birth or their name.

Additionally, this book is nonacademic study of the socioeconomic impacts of Obama care. It is the logical extrapolation of potential scenarios that could occur as a result of our health care system being taken over by the government. When I was in college, I toyed with getting a minor in Soviet studies. I was about six credits away from making that happen when the Berlin Wall fell and tanks led by Boris Yeltsin rumbled into Red Square. As such, I have a unique perspective in how government programs work or don’t work, as the case may be.

You will see from a lot of the Shades that there is a great deal of overlap. Sex mingles a bit with technology, independent contractors and employees mix with unemployment and raising prices, while other relationships are more obvious like medical professionals, pharmaceuticals and healthcare.

At the very least, this book is entertainment – take of it what you will. Some of these are articles I have written over the past several years that happen to dove-tail into the Obama care rubric.

This book does make me sad, as I see the America of my youth, the America I studied about in grade school and high school slip away before my eyes⁹.

Shade Two

Pharmaceuticals

One of the greatest features about living right here, right now, in the good old United States of America, is the availability of prescription drugs. Pills, glorious pills¹⁰! I wake up in the morning and have a pain in my back? All I need to do is take some pills, and it’s gone. I’m in the shower and I’m feeling anxious about something? A couple of Xanax will take the sting out of anything¹¹.

Under Obama care, this will be but a fond memory for many of us. Big pharma will likely cease to have a presence in the U S of A. Why develop a cancer-curing medication if the government is going to pay the same amount for that pill, as it does for a pain reliever? Because, let’s face it, a cancer cure will take more time, energy and money to develop than an aspirin.

Therefore, over the next several years, I doubt you will see any of the now ubiquitous advertisements for popular medications. The gummint isn’t going to pay for it, and without any insurance subsidy, the cost of the pills themselves will be far too expensive for the average person to handle. If the ads disappear, there will be holes in your magazines, dead air on the radio and snow on the television¹². The media, which rely on advertising to keep their product either free or affordable, will lose a ton of revenues due to these holes, and they will either disappear, or have to increase their prices (no more Viagra ads, lower birth rate, fewer STDs for the elderly – I’m just saying).

What will small business, big pharma and the media do about it? I would imagine quite a few business will either close up shop and lay off all of their workers, or they’ll move out of the country. The same will go with the pharmaceutical companies; why develop new meds for a market that, while the demand exists, the revenues won’t. Figure then that all the leading, cutting edge meds will go elsewhere, too. Pretty soon, most of us will be travelling overseas (if we’re not unemployed) for not only our cheap plastic surgery and open-heart procedures, but also for our meds.

Of course, this will continue to cheapen our standard of living, as well as our standing with the rest of the world. We have the resources to be a first-world country, but the way we will utilize those resources will be in line with a banana republic. Pretty soon, Michael Moore will be floating off of the coast of Africa with a bullhorn, discussing the superiority of African medical care over that found in America¹³.

When Obama care hits big pharma, the availability of drugs will be the least of most peoples’ concerns. Rather, they will be terribly worried about their employment situation¹⁴. Without a ton of drugs to sell, all of the pharmaceutical reps will be out of a job¹⁵. Researchers who have spent years experimenting with science and chemistry¹⁶ and medications will be out on the street and out of work. People who sign up for medical experiments will have to find other employment on Craigslist¹⁷.

Do you see what I’m saying? This will be catastrophic for many segments of society.

And regarding your magazines, radio shows and television programs, you’ll have to expect some of them will fold, while others will soldier on, raising their prices. Not to mention shedding a whole bunch of employees in the process¹⁸.

What to do, you ask? Well, I think we can all be safe in the knowledge that, as a result of the standardization of health care (with the ever-responsible gummint looking out for our best interests), we won’t have to worry about fewer jobs and less entertainment, because, after all, standardization means fewer (and lower quality) resources for a greater demand, which will likely manifest itself in the form of a much lower life expectancy (which, of course, we’ll get to in another Shade of this book).

Shade Three

Small Business

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m a conservative, but not overwhelmingly so¹⁹. I tend to be fiscally responsible and socially benevolent (try saying that at a meeting of the GOP)²⁰. Basically, neither the Republicans nor the Democrats would be proud to call me one of their own, partially because I am a hybrid, and partially because I’m given toward thoughtful analysis and reason; not hysterical repetition of talking points²¹.

That said, I think Obama care is going to be the end of civilization as we know it.

Our economy and our culture are built on small businesses. The bedrock of our culture is the mom and pop, the hardware store owner and the bookstore. True, a few of these examples have gone out of business as a result of competition; but the rest will be extinguished by governmental fiat.

As a small business owner (thanks, Jim!²²), I figured and planned on hiring one or two people over the next year. I’ve had a solid couple of years, I have a decent amount of work to do, and I would like to make more money while working fewer hours. Sounded like a hell of a plan to me. Not now.

Although I make a comfortable living and I sometimes have a bit more work than I know what to do with, a permanent employee is just not in my immediate future. Why? Because I likely won’t be able to afford the health care premiums on said employee as a result of Obama care. Nor do I have enough money in the budget to pay the taxes on the ironically named Affordable Health Care Act. Further, I’m hesitant to even contract with an independent contractor, as I have no idea what portion of their health care I would have to pay. I can’t possibly believe that I’m the only one in this boat. Companies that were looking to hire a few more people a couple of weeks ago are now figuring out how many people they are going to have to let go as a result of this measure. Or, how many people will no longer have full-time employment, but will have independent contractor gigs. Hey, a lot of people