# Congress to exempt itself, staffers, from Obamacare **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [April 25, 2013, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congress-to-exempt-itself-staffers-from-obamacare/656655 "2013-04-25T11:40:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Debaser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3da27b/32.png) [@Debaser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Debaser)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2013, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congress-to-exempt-itself-staffers-from-obamacare/656655/41 "2013-04-25T18:45:54Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > And yet, when you look at the [list](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_by_income) of states with the highest personal incomes, it’s overwhelmingly blue states. Coincidence? The #1 state on the list is Maryland and it’s there because it is the hub of government and all the well paid government employees and lobbyists live there. So no: It’s not a coincidence. The #2 state on that list is a conservative state, Alaska. It’s there because of the vast natural resources and low population. #5 and #6 are MA and NH and they are very close in income. One of them is overwhelmingly liberal and the other one is probably the most libertarian leaning state in the country. So, I’d say that your list doesn’t really prove anything. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2013, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congress-to-exempt-itself-staffers-from-obamacare/656655/42 "2013-04-25T18:56:47Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > No I didn’t. Any expansion of federal government involvement in non-Constitutional areas I cannot support. Does that include abortion, gay marriage, unconstitutional wire taps, and the like? ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2013, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congress-to-exempt-itself-staffers-from-obamacare/656655/43 "2013-04-25T18:58:57Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Does that include abortion, gay marriage, unconstitutional wire taps, and the like? Yes. All of that properly belongs to the states. Except for “unconstitutional wire taps”. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2013, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congress-to-exempt-itself-staffers-from-obamacare/656655/44 "2013-04-25T19:45:09Z")
> [@Debaser](#): > > So, I’d say that your list doesn’t really prove anything. You have to get to #13 before you hit your second solid red state. NH and VA still went for Obama in 2012, so if they were opposed to the ACA then you’d think they’d make their preferences known. I agree that these states also have a high cost of living, but a lot of that has to do with not getting as much federal largesse per capita versus the red states, on average. In addition to being such nice places to live that the upper middle class wants to live there, which drives up the prices through supply and demand. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2013, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congress-to-exempt-itself-staffers-from-obamacare/656655/45 "2013-04-25T20:15:45Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > Both are. But whatever makes the government-involvement scheme more unworkable is better. Including the VA and Medicare? ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2013, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congress-to-exempt-itself-staffers-from-obamacare/656655/46 "2013-04-25T20:33:35Z")
> [@Jas09](#): > > Including the VA and Medicare? VA is part of the military, thus constitutional. Medicare isn’t and should be done, if at all, at state level. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2013, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congress-to-exempt-itself-staffers-from-obamacare/656655/47 "2013-04-25T20:38:26Z")
Well, maybe not… [http://news.yahoo.com/why-congress-wont-exempt-itself-obamacare-102700355.html](http://news.yahoo.com/why-congress-wont-exempt-itself-obamacare-102700355.html) **Why Congress won’t exempt itself from ObamaCare, after all** Offered without comment. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2013, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congress-to-exempt-itself-staffers-from-obamacare/656655/48 "2013-04-25T20:54:44Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > VA is part of the military, thus constitutional. Boy, you have a broad view of “part of the military.” The VA was never part of the Department of Defense or Department of War. ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2013, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congress-to-exempt-itself-staffers-from-obamacare/656655/49 "2013-04-25T20:59:35Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > Boy, you have a broad view of “part of the military.” The VA was never part of the Department of Defense or Department of War. Taking care of the veterans is part of having a military. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2013, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congress-to-exempt-itself-staffers-from-obamacare/656655/50 "2013-04-25T21:08:29Z")
> [@Debaser](#): > > Yes, because states that are run almost entirely by Democrats are so competently managed. > > MA, CA, NY: All well managed states with no waste, incompetence, or corruption. > > :rolleyes: You’d see that with pretty much any state. Republican states are no exception. Plus, they drain off money from the feds by asking for handouts paid in taxes by the blue states, and they have little to show for it. Less educated students, less college grads, high rates of infant deaths, unheathier, you name it, the red states have got it ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2013, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congress-to-exempt-itself-staffers-from-obamacare/656655/51 "2013-04-25T21:48:44Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > Taking care of the veterans is part of having a military. There isn’t anything in the Constitution about health care for former members of the military. Not a peep. Personally, I’m all for it. I’m just surprised that you think health care for old Americans is an abomination because the Constitution is silent on the matter; and yet you take a much more liberal (heh) view of the Constitution’s silence on veterans. ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2013, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congress-to-exempt-itself-staffers-from-obamacare/656655/52 "2013-04-25T23:17:14Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > There isn’t anything in the Constitution about health care for former members of the military. Not a peep. Personally, I’m all for it. The military is in the purview of the federal government, according to the Constitution. Taking care of veterans is part of having a military. > [@](#): > > I’m just surprised that you think health care for old Americans is an abomination because the Constitution is silent on the matter; It is not an “abomination”. It is not something that should be done by the federal government. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2013, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congress-to-exempt-itself-staffers-from-obamacare/656655/53 "2013-04-26T02:26:05Z")
> [@Debaser](#): > > The #1 state on the list is Maryland and it’s there because it is the hub of government and all the well paid government employees and lobbyists live there. So no: It’s not a coincidence. > > The #2 state on that list is a conservative state, Alaska. It’s there because of the vast natural resources and low population. > > #5 and #6 are MA and NH and they are very close in income. One of them is overwhelmingly liberal and the other one is probably the most libertarian leaning state in the country. > > So, I’d say that your list doesn’t really prove anything. NH is only that high on the list because we have no income taxes and many people claim their properties here are their main residence to evade income taxes where they really live. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2013, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congress-to-exempt-itself-staffers-from-obamacare/656655/54 "2013-04-26T15:48:43Z")
The joke’s on them, though. You pay state income tax where it’s earned, not where you live, and the feds don’t care. Plus, NH makes it up by pushing state functions down to the municipalities, who fund them with property taxes. It’s an image game, nothing more. So, somebody from Mass who still works there but buys a house in NH pays twice, while congratulating himself for \*beating \*the system. It’s amazing how common that is. Well, there’s also the lack of a state sales tax in NH, but if you live near the NH line you don’t have to pay that either. ---
**Author:** ![Skypist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skypist/32/169_2.png) [@Skypist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skypist)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2013, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congress-to-exempt-itself-staffers-from-obamacare/656655/55 "2013-04-26T16:11:01Z")
> [@Debaser](#): > > People should buy insurance when they are young and healthy. People get covered under our current system by their employers, which don’t care about pre-existing conditions. Some people never have a “young and healthy,” just a “young and sick.” Besides that, if you are employed and take your employer’s insurance, then get laid off or become unable to work, there’s no way in heck you will be able to buy your own insurance if you have a pre-existing condition unless you are at the Bill Gates financial level. If people either can’t get a job or only a part time job, then they’re not covered by their employers. :smack::dubious: ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2013, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congress-to-exempt-itself-staffers-from-obamacare/656655/56 "2013-04-26T16:29:51Z")
Then they should just go and get rich! America! Fucked, yeah! ---
**Author:** ![Debaser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3da27b/32.png) [@Debaser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Debaser)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2013, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congress-to-exempt-itself-staffers-from-obamacare/656655/57 "2013-04-26T16:32:57Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > NH is only that high on the list because we have no income taxes and many people claim their properties here are their main residence to evade income taxes where they really live. Cite? ---
**Author:** ![Debaser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3da27b/32.png) [@Debaser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Debaser)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2013, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congress-to-exempt-itself-staffers-from-obamacare/656655/58 "2013-04-26T16:34:46Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > The joke’s on them, though. You pay state income tax where it’s earned, not where you live, and the feds don’t care. Plus, NH makes it up by pushing state functions down to the municipalities, who fund them with property taxes. It’s an image game, nothing more. So, somebody from Mass who still works there but buys a house in NH pays twice, while congratulating himself for \*beating \*the system. It’s amazing how common that is. Well, there’s also the lack of a state sales tax in NH, but if you live near the NH line you don’t have to pay that either. So you are claiming that the tax burden of NH is the same as that of MA? I’m dubious of this claim, and request a cite. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2013, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congress-to-exempt-itself-staffers-from-obamacare/656655/59 "2013-04-26T16:38:34Z")
> [@Skypist](#): > > Some people never have a “young and healthy,” just a “young and sick.” Besides that, if you are employed and take your employer’s insurance, then get laid off or become unable to work, there’s no way in heck you will be able to buy your own insurance if you have a pre-existing condition unless you are at the Bill Gates financial level. > > If people either can’t get a job or only a part time job, then they’re not covered by their employers. > > :smack::dubious: I think the general argument is that they are not me so screw 'em. ---
**Author:** ![Skypist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skypist/32/169_2.png) [@Skypist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skypist)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2013, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congress-to-exempt-itself-staffers-from-obamacare/656655/60 "2013-04-26T17:13:25Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > I think the general argument is that they are not me so screw 'em. That’s what I gathered. I just couldn’t keep my mouth shut, though. I get a little rage-y on this topic, especially when I see this level of ignorance. Expecting someone to “get insurance when they’re young and healthy” and then somehow keep it forever until they retire and get on Medicare, yet at the same time “just use your employer’s insurance.” :smack: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congress-to-exempt-itself-staffers-from-obamacare/656655.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congress-to-exempt-itself-staffers-from-obamacare/656655.md?page=4)