Obama

For next week, finish Johnson

Will discuss other topics you want

Experience survey on Monday: bring your devices

Obama wins

Coming out of the Great Recession

TARP (a Bush policy, Johnson 398-399)

Economic Recovery Act and the difficulty of implementation

Obama on construction:

• December 15, 2008: "We've got shovel-ready projects all across the country that governors and mayors are pleading to fund. And the minute we can get those investments to the state level, jobs are going to be created."
• September 27, 2010: "But the problem is, is that spending it out takes a long time, because there's really nothing -- there's no such thing as shovel-ready projects."

The Affordable Care Act (Johnson 401-405) 

Policy Window:  unified control of government and brief supermajority in the Senate

 Path Dependency: Adding onto existing insurance, not replacing it

• Health Insurance Marketplaces: The law established state-based Health Insurance Marketplaces (also known as exchanges) where individuals and families can compare and purchase private health insurance plans 
• Premium Tax Credits: The ACA provides tax credits on a sliding scale to help make insurance premiums affordable for eligible individuals and families purchasing coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace. Enhanced credits in 2021, just expired.
• Medicaid Expansion: The law offered states the option to expand their Medicaid programs to cover nearly all low-income adults under age 65, significantly extending health coverage to millions who were previously uninsured.
• Young Adult Coverage: One of the most popular provisions allows young adults to remain on a parent’s health insurance plan until they turn 26, which is particularly beneficial as they often have limited income after high school or college.
• Preventive Services Without Cost: The ACA mandates that most health insurance plans cover a broad range of preventive services, such as vaccinations, screenings, and counseling, at no extra cost to the patient (no copayment or coinsurance).
• Guaranteed Issue and Renewability: The ACA prohibits insurers from denying coverage or charging more based on a person's pre-existing health conditions, ensuring access for everyone regardless of their health history

Once again, the problem of overpromising

• June 13, 2009: "If you like your plan and your doctor, you can keep them. The only changes that you'll see are lower costs and better health care."
• November 7, 2013: 

Q:  At this point, though, it''s obviously something — a promise that has not been able to be kept. Just today the Denver Post reported 250,000 people in Colorado are seeing health insurance policies cancelled. Some of those people like those policies, and they can''t keep them. What happened?

A: But even though it''s a small percentage of folks who may be disadvantaged, you know, it means a lot to them and it''s scary to them. And I am sorry that they, you know, are finding themselves in this situation, based on assurances they got from me.

Tea Party (Johnson 392-393)

How it all began --  February 19, 2009

Who they were, what they believed


Rise and fall of the Tea Party in the Electorate, data from Gallup



2012:  First president to win reelection while losing popular vote share.