Nikki, a 12-year-old Charlotte resident, is a top student and talented musician.  She also has Type 1 diabetes.  Dealing with a chronic medical condition is enough to keep any parent up at night.  Before health reform, anyone with a chronic condition was also at risk of getting locked out of the insurance system. 

This is one family that is glad they no longer have to fret about obtaining insurance coverage.  Here is their story. 

7 Comments

Doug

March 1, 2013 at 4:28 pm

You should also find some analysis of what will happen to these people when the US is punished by the bond market (Chinese) when it is realized we cannot pay the debts already on the books, much less the burden of Obamacare.  Just look up post WWI Germany, or hyperinflation to see the effects of printing money as we have for the past several years. 

david esmay

March 1, 2013 at 6:12 pm

Just look up who owns the majority of U.S. debt, we do, not China.  U.S. citizens own the vast majority of our debt, roughly 75% of the GDP and it will stay that way for much of the current decade according to Ben Bernanke. 

Those on the right who keep whining for increased austerity have nothing to base their assertions on, in fact if we were to impose more fiscal austerity it would only slow economic growth in a depressed economy. 

Doug

March 2, 2013 at 8:47 am

But the Chinese are the ones likely to call in their debt, although the US investor will likely get smart at some point too, although when the treasury bond rating gets lowered to a certain point there will be a lot of investors that will be barred from purchasing the things because of regulations.  That mutual fund you may have is likely not allowed to invest in them if they are below the A ratings, same with money market funds. 

Doug Gibson

March 2, 2013 at 4:29 pm

So when the Chinese “call in their debt,” what are they going to buy instead?  Euros?  Yen?  And with all these people selling off dollar-denominated assets, the value of the dollar is likely to fall, right?  So then U.S. goods will be more competitive with Chinese goods, and, well—I guess the Chinese like to shoot themselves in the foot whenever they can.  That’s how they roll. 

All I know is the last time U.S. bonds got downgraded, it was because Republicans in Congress decided not to honor the debt they had created with their own appropriations bills.  They only agreed to honor U.S. obligations if President Obama agreed to the steep spending cuts now known as “the sequester.”  They got 98% of what they wanted in that deal, but now the sequester is Obama’s fault. 

Doug

March 3, 2013 at 9:06 am

US bonds have been downgraded because we have approximately doubled our debt in 4 years because the Democrat party is unwilling to work with the Republicans That stimulus that was supposed to be one time is one of the reasons, they keep paying off their cronies in areas like “greeen” energy.  You cannot blame this on one party Gibson, since much of the Republican party has become Democrat lite. 

And if you do not recognize our current situation as a government “bubble” in a similar vein as the housing or tech bubbles of the past then you are sadly ignorant of the real world.  Going from ~$9-10 trillion to ~16-17 trillion should be worrying to you.  And there is no way it is going to end well. 

Doug Gibson

March 3, 2013 at 11:46 am

Doug,

I’m not that worried.  All that extra debt that you’re referencing is a pretty natural result of cutting taxes in a boom while spending far too much on 1) tax cuts biased toward the wealthy, 2) a Medicare drug benefit that prevented the government from negotiating drug prices, and 3) unnecessary wars.  When the crash came and safety net spending ballooned, it was natural and pretty much inevitable that you’d see a spike in the deficit and a corresponding rise in debt.  Republican policies contributed significantly to that debt; Democrats are trying to reduce it without shredding the safety net.  And sinking the economy. 

You have no proof that the amount of US debt led to the downgrade.  The primary cause of the downgrade was the refusal to raise the debt ceiling. 

Finally, I get it.  If you think the current crop of Republicans are largely “Democrat” lite, then you’re obviously defining Republican policies as “stuff I agree with,” and “Democrat” policies as stuff you don’t.  So when President Obama works with Republicans and passes deficit reduction at a 4-to-1 ratio of spending cuts to new revenue, he’s really working with “Democrats,” and refusing to compromise with “Republicans.” 

So it won’t be the Chinese shooting themselves in the foot, I guess.  It’ll be the “Chinese” sinking the dollar, putting “Chinese lite” at a competitive disadvantage. 

Doug

March 4, 2013 at 3:07 pm

Gibson,
Your dired tropes about cuts for the wealthy etc.  do not bear true when most of that had been in place pre 2008.  Our debt has increased ~50% in only four years where the liberals had control and could have easily resolved each of those in the first 3-4. 

And if you believe tax cuts do not produce increased revenues, then you should bow out of the conversation.  Every time there have been tax cuts, there has been a long term increase in revenues.  Unfortunately the politicians tax and then spend what they get plus some (which is the real problem). 

Oh, and for the most part I agree with Libertarian views.  Almost anything that the government is involved in is bad.  Also, I have not seen a 4-1 “compromise” so far all we have seen is tax increases until this sequester.