(Alexandria, Virginia) — The 60 Plus Association, the nation’s largest conservative seniors organization and acknowledged alternative to the liberal AARP, today agreed with labor union bosses demanding that President Obama go ‘back to the drawing board’ with Obamacare, adding that all Americans deserve the same escape clause from the law being asked for by union leaders. 60 Plus made its statement amid reports that AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka is negotiating with the Administration to receive healthcare subsidies to protect the labor unions’ current insurance plans.
Unions were initially strong advocates for Obamacare, giving their support when Obama assured them in 2009 that under his law they could keep their current insurance plans without interruption. As this falsehood has become apparent, labor organizations including the Teamsters, AFSCME, and dozens of other local and national councils have turned on the law, charging that workers will lose their health plans and that Obamacare will destroy the middle-class by forcing companies to end the 40-hour work week.
Said 60 Plus Chairman Jim Martin, “We agree wholeheartedly with Mr. Trumka’s assessment on behalf of the labor movement that Obamacare contains ‘stupid mistakes.’ Unlike the unions, however, we believe the stupid mistake was passage of the law itself, not just its failure to exempt big labor from the crushing taxes and avalanche of mandates forced on every American not fortunate enough not hold a VIP pass to the Oval Office.
“When Obama said there were still ‘glitches’ to work out in the law, now we understand what he meant. The President can no longer deny that Obamacare is a devastating blow to the current health plans enjoyed by tens of millions of Americans. It is not enough to give preferential treatment to political supporters, it is time to repeal and start over.
“Obamacare is a creature of backroom deals and corrupt political payoffs, and those deals continue to this day. It turns out that to qualify for an Obamacare exemption, you had to be a loud and public supporter of the law’s passage. What about the rest of us, Mr. President?”
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