A fraction of a fraction: 92/100
28 October, 2016 | Index
Dear Hillary Clinton,
Gerard Mclean here, from Englewood, Ohio, about ten miles north of Dayton. This is the ninety-second letter of one hundred I am writing you on health care; one for each day between your nomination and your election. The previous letters can be found in your USPS mailbox or online at 100HRC.com.
I got into it on twitter yesterday with some “health care experts” who tried to minimize the fraction of a fraction of us (ONLY about 8 million!) who fell into that hole Bill Clinton identified a ways back. Dean Baker with the Center for Economic and Policy Research dismissed me as “unemployed.” Sarah Kliff with Vox is now actively ignoring me because my story is too complicated to wrap a buttoned-up narrative around. Jeffrey Young with the Huffington Post tweeted, called us a “fraction of a fraction of the electorate.”
I’m not really sure what Mr. Young is implying here, but the last time I looked in the mirror, an entire human being looked back. The last time I looked at my checkbook, I saw I was paying all the taxes I owed. The last time I saw my statement from Anthem BC/BS of Ohio, I saw that I paid my entire premium.
I am not a fraction of a fraction. My “fair share” of paying into the system to ensure I get health care is not a “fraction of a fraction.” The number I pay forward is so much more than a fraction. The number I pay forward does not contain the slash of a fraction, but the comma of a firm commitment to the health of the United States, at least on my part. I can’t speak for Anthem.
My story is complicated and I’ll detail it again tomorrow as a reminder. As you work to expand the ACA to include SinglePayer, MedicareForAll, UniversalCare, I hope you listen to the “experts” only with a passive ear. Our stories are so much more horrifying than the tale rounded out statistics that wrap us up as “fractions of a fraction of the electorate” tells.
Regards,
Gerard McLean
cc: Sen. Sherrod Brown
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