Pros and Cons of Obama Care Essay Example for Free

Pros and Cons of Obama Care Essay The Affordable Care Act withstood many trials on its way toward becoming reality, from epic congressional battles, to a pivotal Supreme Court ruling, to — finally — yesterdays Presidential election. Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty Images Obamas reelection means his health-care reform act has dodged its last bullet, and the age of universal mandates, penalty taxes and tax credits will almost certainly go into effect, although probably not exactly as scheduled on Jan. 1, 2014. What do you need to do to get your business ready? (Read more: Warby Parker CEO: Startups Focused on Health-Care Costs, Immigration Reform) Inc. put the question to health-care policy expert Henry J. Aaron, a senior fellow at Washington think tank Brookings Institution. Aaron offered three key ideas for entrepreneurs facing the enormous changes scheduled for health care during Obamas second term. 1. Weigh the Costs The key decision you will face is whether to sponsor a health-care plan, if you dont already have one, or to drop a policy you may have and leave employees to buy insurance on the exchanges themselves. The pros and cons of either route will depend on the size of your payroll, both in people and dollars. Do you have 50 or fewer employees? Then you arent subject to penalties for not providing an employee plan. On the flip side, helping employees pay for insurance affords tax advantages. If you have fewer than 25 full-timers on your payroll and their average pay is less than $50,000, the law affords you a tax credit of up to 35 percent for providing insurance today, rising to 50 percent in 2014. (Read more: Disaster Loans Soar as Businesses Struggle After Sandy) Theres a calculation to be done, said Aaron, if your employees are below the threshold (which tops out at 400 percent of the poverty line) for getting a federal subsidy to buy insurance on their own. In such a case, it might make sense to drop insurance and add the savings to your employees cash compensation. The question you should ask, Aaron said, is, If my employees are going to be eligible for subsidies, why should I leave that money on the table? If you have more than over 50 on staff, its a different story. If just one employee qualifies for insurance subsidies, and you dont provide insurance, that means tax penalties. 2. Check Your States Approach In theory, you should be able to buy insurance for your employees on the new health-insurance exchanges. However, states differ in how they plan to administer the exchanges. If youre running a small business, what prospects you face depend sensitively on where youre doing business, Aaron said. Some states, like Vermont, will take an active role, making sure a broad range of insurance plans will be available on the exchange. Many others leave it to the federal government to run the exchange for individuals and will leave employer-sponsored plans alone. The complexities are likely to create a mini-boom in the services of insurance brokers. Aaron suggest that you are likely to find them even more necessary than they are now in navigating the explosion in new options and rules. 3. Take Your Time Enrollment in the new health-care exchanges wont begin until October 2013 at the earliest. Legal requirements — and the accompanying fees for disobeying them — wont take effect until January 2014. Washington red tape probably could push those dates out even further into the future. Its a complicated bill, and its not drafted in a way to facilitate implementation, said Aaron. Delays could become inevitable and necessary. That might suit many business owners just fine.

HIV and Aids :: Medical Health Medicine Essays

HIV and Aids In Junior High, when we were in sex education class, we were told about AIDS and HIV. We learned that being HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) positive eventually led to AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome), which eventually led to death. We were taught this and never really doubted it. The AIDS pandemic is global and an estimated 40 million people are infected. None of them have been cured. The amount of funding for AIDS research is not small. A plentiful amount of drugs are available to patients diagnosed with AIDS or HIV. Some AIDS patients take "cocktails" of pills, which often lead to serious physical side effects. Some "cocktails" can mean ingesting 25 pills a day. There has been much talk about finding an AIDS Vaccine, but there have been no definite results as of yet. She created a stir in the media when she appeared on ABC News 20/20(1). Her person She has been called an unfit mother, a heretic, and has been compared to those who believe the Holocaust never happened. The reason for such a stir is because she is HIV positive, doesn"t take any medications whatsoever, questions whether HIV causes AIDS, has published a book called What if Everything You Thought You Knew About AIDS Was Wrong?, has unprotected sex with her husband, has an untested 3 year old son who she breast-fed at birth (the virus can be transmitted in utero, during birth, or through breast feeding), and is pregnant with her second child. Her name is Christine Maggiore and she as well as other dissidents have aroused both anger and support from AIDS and HIV communities. The difference between being HIV positive and having AIDS is that having AIDS means that a person must be HIV positive and either have a T-cell count below 200 or have one of the CDC"s (Center for Disease Control) 28 opportunistic infections. Christine Maggiore started questioning the connection between HIV and AIDS and the HIV and AIDS testing process when certain things she was told about AIDS and HIV did not add up with her situation. She speaks about how she "started really thinking about what AIDS doctors and educators told me rather than just accepting everything as true and correct." Doctors had told her that from her T cell count, she had a recent new infection.

Saving Nature but Only for Man

Charles Krauthammer, in his essay â€Å"Saving Nature, but Only for Man,† argues against whom he refers to as a sentimental environmentalist. Charles Krauthammer is a well-known right-wing political columnist and commentator who has worked or contributed to a number of magazines throughout his career (Krauthammer 292) His purpose behind writing this article was to prove that nature is here to serve man and not the other way around. The logic of his argument derives from an unusual form of pathos: an appeal to a human's fondness for other humans over so-called luxurious aspects of the environment. This pathos coupled with appealing to people's fear and moralistic views are the rhetorical strategies he utilizes throughout his argument. Krauthammer begins his argument by saying that people are beginning to make protecting the environment and becoming more green-friendly a prominent moral value in 1991's society. With great influences and important figures like Ted Turner and George Bush, along with companies such as Dow and Exxon showing their â€Å"love for Mother Earth,† people are starting to change their views and attitudes of the environment (292). This type of environmentalist (or what he refers to as a â€Å"sentimental environmentalist at the end of his essay (294)) is inclined to intertwine man and nature into one, but Krauthammer on the other hand claims that â€Å"When man has to choose between his well-being and that of nature, nature will have to accommodate†. (293). The foundation of his argument comes from Protagoras' old maxim, that â€Å"Man is the measure of all things† (293). In other words, man can only know the universe through man's eyes. All of physics is human physics, all of philosophy is human philosophy. In the past, animals (including humans) have accommodated to nature, suffering through various natural disasters: floods, volcanic eruptions, tornadoes and hurricanes. Krauthammer claims that now we must make the natural world into a natural world form humans (293). Krauthammer's first goal in his argument was to inject a sense of fear to his readers. To do this, he provides an example of what's currently happening in our ecosystem, such as the looming crises of the greenhouse effect and ozone depletion, and how stopping these man-made disasters would e a necessity (292). These two problems are undeniably the result of our civilization, but are made urgent only because they threaten man. In Krauthammer's eyes, the threat to nature they create is only credible because damaging nature (in this case at least) means damaging us humans. This is why we should stop the damaging climate change; not to save nature, but to save nature for mankind. This is not an effective plan of attack. By ta king this approach, Krauthammer is relying on the reader accepting his or her own ego-centrism. Whether or not the reader is wholly self-interested, no one is swayed by accusations of selfishness. He also appeals to people's emotions by having them imagine themselves requesting â€Å"hardworking voters to sacrifice in the name of the snail darter†, only then to say that these voters would barely even give them a â€Å"shrug† (293). This is an obscure reference. It is confusing for the reader because many who would come across the term â€Å"snail darter† would assume that Krauthammer is referencing a member of the lower class, where in reality it's a type of bird. However, this can be effective because whether or not his audience knows that a snail darter is a bird, the reader is likely imagining themselves being these hardworking voters, and feel shame because of their potential actions. This is his strange use of pathos: that we, as humans, should care for other humans more than other living things, especially if we don't even care enough for birds. Any reader capable of feeling compassion for the snail darter or guilt for the voters will not separate man and nature, and therefore will not make this distinction in his argument. The staggering amount of favoritism he gives to humans, especially in comparison with other aspects of the planet, is at the center of each of his examples. Which of these would be more correct: killing and ruining the livelihood of humans, or the destruction of a species' natural habitat? Krauthammer makes the attempt to tap into people's moralistic views, otherwise known as ethos. He knows that when it comes to having to choose between the two, people would generally sacrifice the animals before themselves or their kind. With this in mind, he creates a sequence of events that makes his audience aware that sentimentalizing the environment is not always the right choice for the benefit of humanity. For instance, he brings up the topic of the war in the Middle East. Krauthammer states that the only reason why we're having this war is because we believe that drilling for oil in Alaska could disturb the caribou breeding grounds. We would not have to police the Middle East for their oil if we could get the exact same product from our own soil (293). This too is an appeal to emotions because people do not want other people to die in vain, especially when there is another solution to avoid these deaths of American soldiers. He gives a similar example, this time in a hypothetical situation, with a forest full of spotted owls. The welfare of thirty thousand lumberjacks and their families depend upon logging this forest, which could cause the extinction of this spotted owl (293). Again Krauthammer is forgetting his target audience. No â€Å"sentimental environmentalist† will agree to ending a human conflict by sacrificing the lives of innocent animals. These examples are incapable of changing the minds of the readers who disagree with his views. If there's anything effective about his argument, it is what he does to draw in his audience of choice. Clearly there would be no point in trying to convince an audience that's already in agreement with Krauthammer, so he targets these so-called sentimental environmentalists. Among other things, he does this by choosing a very intriguing title for his essay. Generally, people who see the phrase â€Å"Saving Nature, but Only for Man† as the title for an argument would think that the author is trying to make a point that â€Å"Man† in general is selfishly saving nature for themselves and not for animals or any other living organism. Just like any regular person would do (in this case, a sentimental environmentalist), one is only interested in reading something that would correlate with their point of view. With this Man-is-Selfish title, Krauthammer would have accomplished his goal in captivating an audience who is in favor of what the title seems to be. Then, once these green friendly citizens are already reading Krauthammer's argument, they will have the chance to see his logic and reasoning as to why it is necessary to become more anthropocentric. The real problem is that he abandons this audience soon after, scolding his target readers more than convincing them. The most obvious opening in this argument is that we as humans cannot foresee all of the consequences of our actions. Actually labeling every part of nature as a luxury or necessity does a disservice to the cycles within cycles that is the environment. Too many species and topics can fall in a gray area between the two and any moderation in Krauthammer's argument is not readily apparent. For example, one forest of spotted owls may not mean much, but certainly the Earth as a whole needs a certain number of trees, and possibly a certain number of flying predators to keep the rodent population under control (something they do simply, which we humans often struggle with). To begin another example, humans eat a lot of salmon. Bears also eat a lot of salmon. If we cut down the bear population, we could harvest more salmon safely. However, this pattern may not continue into other food chains. Sharks also eat salmon, but if we killed all the sharks, the fish that they eat (and the fish that we don't eat) will multiply out of control, and ruin the ocean for the salmon. Krauthammer's argument hinges upon humans being the appropriate (or at least competent) caretakers of the complex planet Earth. We have neither the maturity nor the technology to manage an entire planet's ecology. One can also notice a large sense of bias in Krauthammer's argument. There is at least one time where he insults his target audience, actually stating that â€Å"†¦ this anthropocentrism runs against the grain of a contemporary environmentalism that indulges in earth worship to the point of idolatry† (293). This may be true of some, but to say that the current environmental activists all engage in some kind of nature worship is a little overboard. Instead of alienating his audience, Krauthammer should be working to find middle ground or at least convert their beliefs. Despite a deceptive title, Krauthammer's argument is a poorly-crafted article that only serves to state his opinion. His methods of arguing (arousing the audience's affection and conscientious minds) are powerful but unsuccessful because it does not take the reader's viewpoint into consideration. However, it is ultimately up to the reader to decide its impact. The consequences of a world where we value ourselves above all else will have unforeseen negative side effects. If nothing else, our future rests in the decision we make, and in whether or not we choose to trust our own judgment or in mother nature's.

What is Pure Beauty - 1540 Words

Everyone has their own idea of what pure beauty is. According to Websters Dictionary, the definition of beauty is â€Å"the quality or aggregate of qualities in a person or thing that gives pleasure to the senses or pleasurably exalts the mind or spirit† (â€Å"Beauty†). However, the definition of pure beauty has become warped and manipulated into a standard that only a select few can achieve. Nonetheless, beauty is more than what is behind the counter and computer. With these high criteria society sets, many women have false ideals of what is truly beautiful because of the increased use of Photoshop programs, the willingness to put themselves at risk under a surgeons scalpel, and many are now spending hundreds of dollars annually on†¦show more content†¦This means women will pay for the vast majority of the procedure out of pocket. On top of the cost factor, the risks of plastic surgery are more serious than many women realize. According to researcher Diana Zuckerman, â€Å"In 2012, more than 236,000 cosmetic procedures were performed on patients between 13 and 19, including more than 75,000 surgical procedures such as nose reshaping, breast lifts, breast augmentation, liposuction, and tummy tucks† (Zuckerman). Granted, these statistics include emergency procedures to improve these teens health, but many are for cosmetic reasons. Zuckerman also explains â€Å"Studies by implant manufacturers report that most women have at least one serious complication within the first 3 years, including infection, hematomas and seromas, capsular contracture (a sometimes painful hardening of the breasts), loss of nipple sensation, and hypertrophic scarring† (Zuckerman). So along with paying for these cosmetic enhancements, women can be paying for further operations due to complications of the initial surgery. Not only is the quest to be beautiful potentially dangerous, but, as demonstrated above, expensive. According to a report in InStyle, an average woman will spend $15,000 on cosmetic products in her lifetime (â€Å"Women†). Almost every woman atShow MoreRelatedShe Walks in Beauty800 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"She Walks in Beauty† is a poem that uses juxtaposition to help emphasize the object of magnificence. Daniel Moran, a secondary school teacher of English and American literature, states that the object is â€Å"made beautiful by a perfect combination of opposites† (Moran 276). Uma Kukathas, a freelance writer and editor, further explains that â€Å"Byron overturns the reader’s expectations by associating beauty with darkness rather than light and also by showing how light and darkness merge to create a perfectRead MoreShe Walks in Beauty1157 Words   |  5 Pagesbecame captivated by his cousin’s alluring beauty; her fair face contrasting with her dark hair and dress. Inspired by the opposing shades that created such an attractive woman, he wrote a poem about her in 1814 (Gamber). 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Aaron Shephard portrays in his short story, â€Å"The Hidden One: A Native American Legend†, that neglecting such traits results in failure. Any woman who makes deceitful attempts at proving they’re capable ofRead MoreShe Walks in Beauty869 Words   |  4 PagesShe Walks In Beauty Sandy Jackson ENG125: Intro to Literature Instructor:   Jaclyn  Mallan-King February 18, 2013 Three elements in the poem â€Å"She Walks In Beauty† are rhythm, rhyme, theme, and a fourth is language. The theme â€Å"She Walks In Beauty† is what caught my eye. She walks in beauty, I’m thinking about a beautiful woman walking along the shore of the beach with wind blowing her hair in the moonlight. The stars are out and the moonlight is glistening from the water. The theme is the settingRead MoreEssay on Lanval and Yonec1687 Words   |  7 Pagesbody becomes significant for the story. 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Throughout the novel Death in Venice, by Thomas Mann, Aschenbach works his whole life rigorously day by day searching for more and more until his introduction to Tadzio inRead MoreThe Impact Of Advertising On The Portrayal Of Women977 Words   |  4 PagesGlamour magazine November 2013 issue, which I believe indeed is viewed as offensive. According to my sources â€Å"Beauty and the Beast of Advertising† and â€Å"Killing Us Softly 4† both by Jean Kilbourne, there many forms of offense in advertisements. The name of the advertisement I found is called â€Å"Josie Marian† which is named after an American model, actress and entrepreneur and it is quoted â€Å"What kind of nut puts oil on her face?† with subt itles â€Å"A nut like me†. The advertisement is a picture of Josie MaranRead More Light and Sight in The Good-Morrow Essay902 Words   |  4 PagesGood-Morrownbsp;nbsp; John Donne’s poetry deals with themes of creation and discovery. In his work The Good-Morrow, these issues are discussed through the use of poetic symbols. Donne gives major emphasis to the sense of sight as a way of discovering pure love. The first stanza contains images of sleep and, more generally, the ways in which one’s eyes can be closed to the world. Donne uses phrases like not weaned (2), childishly (3), and dream (7), to suggest the idea that when one’s eyes are