Update: Is anyone surprised by this?

It turns out insurance companies may have their claws directly in the melee, stirring up the mayhem. But, wait. I don't understand. I thought their only purpose for being was to protect us?

Now: let's play the deconstruction game!


$80,000 a year worker with no insurance: First of all, what the hell is wrong with you? You make $80,000 a year. Even in New York, can afford some fucking insurance.

Second, what's it like being the token poor one on this piece of propaganda? I mean, sure, you make $80,000 a year but, my God, look at you. You're of ambiguous ethnicity, you're female, and you appear to be serving that food. My feelings of pity as a direct result of the overt feminization of poverty are fighting with my disdain for all "people" in the service industry. You're so sad, yet so gross.

Third, where are you serving food where you're allowed to have your hair all over the place, yet still making $80,000 a year? Since you're clearly lucky, you probably don't even need insurance.

Small business owner who'll have to lay off one person to pay for health care for everyone else: Is this guy even in business anymore? If so, I guarantee there's at least one employee he's been dying to get rid of, anyway. No one will claim it's not worth laying off one person so everyone else can have health care. Besides, he can go work in that restaurant.

Wall Streeter: You are a pariah, and no one cares about you -- but you.

Married couple with a combined income of $1.5M: There are so many zeros behind you, they take up too much space on the flier, despite the fact that you two take up almost half the flier. Is that some kind of subtle metaphor, or something? Anyway, I can't possibly be expected to feel bad for you because you have to pay more taxes; I'm too busy planning to rob your house while you're in the Hamptons. Your disgruntled housekeeper, who's been polishing your glee club trophies with a sprained wrist, is going to let me in the front door.

Of course, all of this incidental compared to the mathFAIL.

The Wall Streeter is going to be charged a surtax of one percent on every dollar he makes over $280,000. That's 1% of $5,000. That's $50.