As the United States enters its second week of partial government shutdown, Brooklyn, New York emcee Papoose provided his perspective on the situation. Speaking exclusively with HipHopDX, the Narcirema Dream rapper says that House Republicans moving to shutter the federal government unless the Patient Protection And Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, is delayed or defunded is the “perfect example of self-destruction.”
“It’s just a small group of Republicans that’s hating on Obamacare,” Papoose says. “There’s a lot of people who are upset, but they don’t take the time to analyze the basics of the problem. It’s all about money. It’s some ridiculous amount of people with no insurance—45 to 50 million people with no insurance. I just feel like Obamacare is providing affordable insurance for poor people. They don’t like that because these insurance companies are all about making money. They’re not thinking about the health of people and longevity and preserving life. It’s just a small group of people that’s hating on Obamacare. That’s the situation. That’s the basics of this whole situation and they’re just being selfish and they want to shutdown. That’s definitely what it is.”
Last September, the New York Times reported that the percentage of uninsured Americans decreased from 15.7 percent in 2011 to 15.4 percent in 2012 and that the increase in coverage was “attributed to government programs.” The publication also reports that there are currently 48 million uninsured Americans.
CBS News reports that Congress has until October 17 to reach an agreement to fund the government or else the United States will default on their financial obligations for the first time in history.
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Papoose Says The Government Shutdown Is Wrong
Papoose says that the government shutdown is “wrong” and people need to be aware of the possible outcomes. “A lot of people are taking it for granted and they don’t realize in two weeks it’s going to be an effective shutdown.
“When I say effective,” he continues, “I mean that the people that are going to suffer, it’s not going to be them. Congress is still going to get paid. Unemployment is going to be effected. Social Security is going to be effected. There’s things of that nature that’s definitely going to see the downside of the situation. I just think that people don’t really know what we say is imminent. They think it’s a game. But in two weeks, it’s going to be an effective shutdown if something don’t drastically change. I just think it’s fucked up that they’re making a decision that’s only going to affect certain people.”
When asked whether the Obama Administration is partially responsible for the gridlock by not effectively selling the Affordable Care Act to the American public, Papoose says since the legislation was passed into law by the Senate and House Of Representatives and ruled constitutional by the Supreme Court, President Obama is not to blame for the shutdown.
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“I don’t think it’s Obama’s fault,” says the “Law Library” emcee. “If you sit back and analyze it, other branches of government agreed to it. Even the judicial system ruled it’s constitutional. As far as him explaining it, I think he explained it very much well in the details about it, as far as the taxes are concerned. Obama breaks this shit down fully. All you gotta do it pay attention.
“The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting more poor, and these guys are frustrated,” he continues. “Even the other countries have universal healthcare. We should have universal education and universal healthcare. It’s just a lot of people that can’t afford to pay all their money towards healthcare and doctors. It’s just an unfortunate situation.
“What other way to self-destruct than a government shutdown?” Papoose adds. “Analyze what’s going on. They shutting down on their own. There’s no bigger form of self-destruction than that. So with all the crookedness that goes on with politics, it speaks for itself.”
The Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, was passed into law on March 23, 2010. On June 28, 2012, the United States Supreme Court upheld Obamacare’s constitutionality in the case of National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebellius. Obamacare’s new insurance exchanges, which are designed to expand health coverage to millions of uninsured Americans, officially opened on October 1, 2013, the same day that Congress moved to shutdown the federal government.
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Papoose says he plans to release his next mixtape, Blackballed, in the coming weeks.
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