FRO13 BWB

Although the government does not have an “obligation” to ensure that all Americans are properly insured, I would say it is a responsibility of the government to ensure wellbeing of its citizens. Free and affordable medicare is a desirable goal and it is not impossible either, as proven by many European countries. However, with trillions of dollars in debt, every one knows that the United States has enormous difficulty reaching that goal. I am no expert at politics and definitely not at American politics, therefore it is not fair of me to take a stand on either side. However, people of the United States have given their trust to this government to rule and to represent them. Thus as citizens of this country, they have the right to be dependent of this government. Those people include the people mentioned in the article, the people who really need Medicaid benefits. I don’t know the solutions of how to provide healthcare coverage to those who really need it, but the government should really figure it out. I am not saying the government has to take care of all Americans but there must be something else to do than neglecting those people with lowest income. In America, the place where everyone claims to have equal rights, it’s sad that Ms. Arbila still needed to ask the question, “Why we don’t have the same opportunities as the others?”

The New York Times study revealed that about 14 million Americans are “uninsured and living in poverty” and while not surprised by this statistic, I do believe that it is a very saddening one and one that I believe should change.  As the article explains, not everyone under the poverty line is a “bum.” Many of these people are the working poor and their jobs do not provide them with coverage.  It’s simple: not all jobs just come with insurance. Nurse aids, cooks and cashiers are all included in this statistic, and they are all hardworking. I do not believe that we should just let these people’s health suffer when they are working just as hard as the rest of us, and for lower wages at that.  I believe that the government should provide healthcare for everyone, and no one should be left uninsured.  No one should be turned away at the hospital or at doctors when their lives and livelihoods are on the line.

I am not surprised one bit that there are over 10 million Americans living in poverty without any health insurance. In fact, like many other people, I knew this was the case before the Affordable Care Act was passed and before the health care debate even began. Obviously, any society is better and more effective in which more of its citizens are insured. However, I do not believe that it is the governments obligation to provide healthcare for the unfortunate. Personally, I believe in small government; a government that does not get involved in the economic or social lives of its citizens. This is without even mentioning the economic consequences of providing healthcare for all of the citizens.

I agree with the Supreme Court decision that left it up to the states on whether or not to expand Medicaid, as outlined in the Affordable Care Act. I don’t see how one can make a good argument that the court authorized unintentional discrimination. Just because a southern state refuses to expand a social entitlement program, does not mean that they are racists or that they are discriminating. The reason that these states declined to expand Medicaid starts off with the fact that they simply don’t have the money for it. Many of these states are among the 10 poorest in the nation. Contrary to popular belief, the federal government is not subsidizing the whole new Medicaid program, it is the states who are going to have to pay for a pretty hefty percentage. How are poor states, with poor citizens, with low taxable incomes, supposed to pay for free healthcare for its citizens. The only way to do that would be to run a deficit. New York is one of the states that chose to participate in the Medicaid expansion program. Certainly, this is going to help a large number of people, I am not denying that. But at the expense of whom? The other 90% of the state who pays for their own health insurance with their own hard earned money.

The intention of the Affordable Care Act is to help provide health insurance for all Americans, and it will ultimately fail to do that. What people must realize is that this law does not give people health insurance. All it does is provide a mandate for individuals to buy health insurance, and subsidize some of the costs for those who cannot afford to pay for a plan. This is not going to help poor Americans who need health insurance. In fact, even with subsidies, many people still aren’t going to afford to purchase a plan, and hence they are going to get fined 1% of their income in 2014, and an increasing percentage in following years. The law also has a terrible impact on the economy. The employer mandate is forcing companies to cut the hours of their employees to part time, in order to not have to provide health care for them. Now look at what happens as a result of that. A single mother who was previously working 45 hours per week and could not afford health insurance, is now working 28 hours per week. Now even with subsidies, how is she supposed to buy a plan? Now take 1% of her income away in 2014, and her and her child(ren) are worse off than they were in the first place. A key provision of the Affordable Care Act is disallowing health insurance companies from denying somebody coverage because of preexisting conditions. This, by itself is definitely a positive. However, this is causing health insurance premiums to skyrocket. By covering people who are at a higher risk, health insurance companies are spending more money per person that they cover, on average. Basic economics tells you that instead of making less profit, they are going to increase premiums across the board. Once again, hurting the poor and middle class. America clearly needs healthcare reform and we need more people to be covered. However, Obamacare is hurting the same people that it meant to help.

• The New York Times study revealed that about 14 million Americans are “uninsured and living in poverty.”  I’m not surprised since there are ~314 million people living in the US thus ~4% living in poverty and being uninsured is expected.  I personally don’t believe government should intervene with healthcare because no where in the constitution does it give them power to do so, in fact healthcare isn’t even a constitutional right or even mentioned in the constitution it’s simply a commodity. The extent I believe government should be responsible for assisting in providing subsidized healthcare coverage is for emergency treatment or life threatening conditions, perhaps special consideration for children under the age of 19 for clinical purposes, then after age 19 it should be the patients responsibility to find a healthcare provider.

Who I am Playlist

Hi guys I am Maria and this is my playlist (you can click the link to listen), I have a weird taste in music as you can probably tell but that’s ok :

You Are More- Tenth Avenue North

I truly love this song, Its the type of song that can lift your spirit when you are down in the dumps because it is a reminder of everyone’s tremendous value.

When you look me in the eyes- Jonas Brothers

Fly with me- Jonas Brothers

These two songs are examples of my love for love songs and the Jonas Brothers, yes I love the Jonas Brothers and if you think they suck, i am sorry but I do not care I LOVE them!

Defying Gravity- Wicked Cast

Big Bang Two- Chameleon Circuit

This song is evidence of my Loser-dom lol its about Doctor Who, the British tv show, I absolutely love Doctor Who its a great show, everyone should watch it, I apologize in advance if I annoy you with my doctor Who talk I just can’t help it.

I can only imagine- Mercy Me

This is a christian song, the reason why I included it is not exactly the words although they are beautiful but rather the memory attached to it. In the beginning of junior year of high school one of my friends was murdered and this song was played in her funeral. It was a crazy experience I had never had anyone so close to me die it was a confusing and anger-filled experience. I couldn’t understand how a human being could kill another human being. It also was shocking to be confronted by the fact that someone my age with great plans for their future could actually die, it completely threw me off and led me to rethink the plans I had for my future. It made me think about what was the point of living simply to please myself.  I want to never forget to be grateful to God for allowing me to live one more day,although at this point i am not sure what i want to do with my life i do know that i want to do something that has a positive impact on people’s lives. I do not want to live a life where i look back and say what was the point? From this experience I also learned that i should treat people with great respect and show them love everyday because you never know what can happen.

My own little world- Matthew West

Good Riddance- Green day

Don’t Worry, Be Happy- Bobby Mcferrin

Mexico Lindo y Querido- Alejandro Fernandez

I grew up listening to my mom sing this song I think its beautiful because it is a song about the writer’s great love for Mexico,my homeland.

I hope you guys were able to learn somethings about who i am and i hope to get to know you all a bit more this semester and the next years to come.

With much love,

Maria Mares

Of course you’re not going to be able to see who I am with a mere post, so if I seem interesting to you after this come up to me any time say hey, or whatever you want to say. Like I said, with just a single post, a life story can only barely be introduced, so here I go. My name is Daniel, I will be 20 years old by the end of the month (even though I’m told I look way older all the time), literally the end of the month (last day of September), I graduated as Valedictorian (not something I usually like to say because I feel it means close to nothing, or at least not what others see it to mean) from Williamsburg Prep High School in 2011 and eventually found my way to Baruch and plan to major in Psycology. Too much information? Am I boring you? But wait there’s more! If there’s anything to know about me I guess it’s that I just won’t let chivalry die (thats right, Prince Charming gets all the girls! … if disney princessess were to exist … and all girls were disney princessess .. and I wasnt prince charming … damn it) I try to be as nice and as helpful to the people of this world as possible, especially my friends and my family (I often get called too sweet, too nice, “sweetheart nigga” <– probably the most interesting way to put it). In high school and still today people have given me the nickname of Jesus, for a number of reasons, 1 being I have / had long curly hair and a light complexion, 2 being I’m usually the most “innocent” guy people have met for my age at least (never drank / got drunk, never did any kind of drugs / got high, and pop quiz to see if your reading this, remember that thing about prince charming getting all the girls … and me not being him … you can see where I’m going with this right?) and 3 because I love to help people. Some interests of mine now, I love music, my favorite TV show is Breaking Bad (been watching since day 1), love to hang out with my friends and I love Milk Tea. I always try to be an enjoyable person to be around so I hope you guys think the same!

(LEFT) This guy right here, most of you might now know him but he’s my all time favorite video game character, the one and only Gray Fox from the Metal Gear Solid series.

(RIGHT) This other guy, my favorite anime character ever, Guyver Unit 2 from the anime Guyver: Bio-Booster Armor

This, this is High School me (would you have called me jesus? You probably think it was pretty fitting now huh)

This is me now, modelling for my best friend

Milk Tea addict…

One of my favorite artists Conor Maynard, with his debut album Contrast signed and all mine

My top 3 favorite songs from him I think would be (Altough I love all his songs):

1. Just in Case

2. Drowning

3. R U Crazy

Lastly, picture of me and my buddy there, you’ve probably seen him before

The first two pictures are of me and my friends. They mean a lot to me and I’ve learned so much from them. They make make me laugh and there’s nothing more I like to do than laugh. The next picture is of my cat, Stark (I didn’t name him, don’t take it I’m a fan of Iron Man :)). This cat makes me smile every time I look at him. The next two pictures show the highlight of my high school time, Key Club. Key Club is dedicated to service and leadership. Through this club I became a leader, met amazing people and gave back to my community. I made so many memories with this club and I’ll never forget them. The following two pictures are from the time I went to India. The first picture is of the Golden Temple, which is breathtaking to see in person. I really love and enjoy Indian architecture. My last photo is of my favorite Indian dish, Chicken tikka masala. It’s the best.

The pictures in this post are intended to showcase the person that I am and what I like to do, during my free time. If I had to describe myself I would say that I am very carefree, funny, friendly, and sometimes a pain in the ass. I’m pretty lazy for the most part, if anything requires physical laboring most likely I’m not on board to do it. However I am never lazy when it comes to family and friends. I love spending time with my family and my friends, I feel at ease when I’m around them and I love all the crazy and stupid things we do. I cherish the moments I share with them. Aside from being a lover of friends and family, my four greatest loves in life are food, music, art, and my “me” time. I LOVE food! My absolute favorite thing to do is curl up on the couch with a large sausage and pepperoni pizza and listen to music. I also love music because it centers me when I’m alone and amplifies the feeling of happiness when I’m with my friends and family. Obviously I cannot fully display my personality using only eight pictures, I am way more complex. Nevertheless I posted what I felt was important to know about me, the rest you will learn as you get to know me ( if you care to, it won’t hurt my feelings if you don’t :).)

http://prezi.com/ycxpllyvcmpq/present/?auth_key=xcguna9&follow=yblknsb2lgih&kw=present-ycxpllyvcmpq&rc=ref-32573681

My slideshow represents my life, the people I hold close and the things I value or take an interest in. The first slide is of what I value the most–my family. My parents are the most important people in my life, my sisters (plus my cousin)  are my best friends (extremely lucky to have great siblings), and my niece is like my “first child” because my sisters and I helped my cousin raise her. The second slide is of my second ‘family’…my friends. They say the friends you make in high school go a long way, and I could not agree more. I’ve known my friends since freshman or sophomore year of high school and we have been inseparable since, regardless of the fact that we go to different colleges now or live far from each other…we always make time somehow. The last section is a little compilation of all my interests. I am a food fanatic. I absolutely love trying different foods, and learning about the culture behind them. The picture of the puppies is to symbolize my love for animals. I put a picture of a basketball because I enjoy playing the sport and because I’m a huge college basketball fan. My interest in music is kind of different from most teenagers today. I love music from the swing era, and the picture is of one of my favorites from the 60s: Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. The foresty picture is of Lohrberg Park, a park in Germany that I visited two years ago. I really appreciate the beauty of nature and am always in awe of the things around me. I want to travel more and visit parks like Lohrberg park where you really capture the beauty of nature. Lastly, I enjoy reading…hence the picture of the bookshelf.
And there you go…a quick look into my life.