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I wouldn't say obviously. From my perspective Obamacare is fascist even as I support it compared to the alternatives save single-payer national healthcare. Wh

I wouldn't say obviously. From my perspective Obamacare is fascist even as I support it compared to the alternatives save single-payer national healthcare. What other ideology than fascism best describes government coercion of its citizens to engage in business relationships with the insurance companies to ensure their profits remain at certain levels?

jhall1468 9y ago
It's not to ensure their profits remain at certain levels, the profits are capped, not floored. The reason for this particular market is because health care costs in this country have gone out of control, and a major factor in that was people without insurance not paying bills, resulting in higher costs. That's not facist simply because you don't like it.
- wavefunction 9y ago
  I specifically said I like Obamacare more than any alternative other than single payer. And the profits are guaranteed by the individual mandate on young people.
  - jhall1468 9y ago
    You also said it's facist which is wrong. And the profits are not guaranteed by the individual mandate, ALL that's guaranteeing is a slow-down in healthcare costs that are spiraling out of control. Young people use healthcare. Everyone uses healthcare. When it goes unpaid, those of us that have insurance pay for those that don't. I'd rather have single payer too. But that doesn't make an "okay" alternative to it facist.
    - cholantesh 9y ago
      Nit: Why do you keep misspelling fascist?
burkaman 9y ago
I agree with Mackey, I don't have a good word for it. Fascism is not a good word for it, it means "an authoritarian and nationalistic right-wing system of government and social organization." This usually results in government control of industry, but that's not the defining feature of the ideology.
dragonwriter 9y ago
> I wouldn't say obviously. From my perspective Obamacare is fascist It's not. Fascism is characterized xenophobia and militant nationalism, among other things. You could, I suppose, argue that Obamacare is a weak single-industry example of corporatism, and it's true that fascism (like many things that are not fascism) incorporates corporatism, but calling it fascist on that basis is like saying an explicitly atheist free-market system looks Communist because it rejects religion.
dang 9y ago
We detached this subthread from https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14569540 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14569540 and marked it off-topic.

jhall1468 9y ago

It's not to ensure their profits remain at certain levels, the profits are capped, not floored. The reason for this particular market is because health care costs in this country have gone out of control, and a major factor in that was people without insurance not paying bills, resulting in higher costs. That's not facist simply because you don't like it.

wavefunction 9y ago
I specifically said I like Obamacare more than any alternative other than single payer. And the profits are guaranteed by the individual mandate on young people.
- jhall1468 9y ago
  You also said it's facist which is wrong. And the profits are not guaranteed by the individual mandate, ALL that's guaranteeing is a slow-down in healthcare costs that are spiraling out of control. Young people use healthcare. Everyone uses healthcare. When it goes unpaid, those of us that have insurance pay for those that don't. I'd rather have single payer too. But that doesn't make an "okay" alternative to it facist.
  - cholantesh 9y ago
    Nit: Why do you keep misspelling fascist?

burkaman 9y ago

I agree with Mackey, I don't have a good word for it. Fascism is not a good word for it, it means "an authoritarian and nationalistic right-wing system of government and social organization." This usually results in government control of industry, but that's not the defining feature of the ideology.

dragonwriter 9y ago

> I wouldn't say obviously. From my perspective Obamacare is fascist It's not. Fascism is characterized xenophobia and militant nationalism, among other things. You could, I suppose, argue that Obamacare is a weak single-industry example of corporatism, and it's true that fascism (like many things that are not fascism) incorporates corporatism, but calling it fascist on that basis is like saying an explicitly atheist free-market system looks Communist because it rejects religion.

dang 9y ago

We detached this subthread from https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14569540 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14569540 and marked it off-topic.