“Generation Opportunity”–the people who brought you that hideous, weird, Creepy Uncle Sam Video–are coming to UM during Homecoming.
Yes, the Koch-bros-funded astroturf group that wants to persuade young people to forgo health insurance on the grounds that it costs money–and why learn to plan ahead for your future when they are working so hard to make sure you don’t have one?–are coming to Coral Gables. They are well funded (NYT):
Evan Feinberg, the president of Generation Opportunity, said in an interview that the group would spend “close to three-quarters of a million dollars” on the campaign, which will include not just online videos but also events at college football games, music festivals and other gatherings that tend to draw young adults. The group will ask young people to pledge not to sign up for insurance through the exchanges, Mr. Feinberg said.
And they’re coming here (emphasis added):
Generation Opportunity, which formed in 2011 and gets funding in part from the conservative Koch brothers, is about to embark on a tour of 20 college towns nationally, including a Nov. 9 stop at the University of Miami. The pitch is that you shouldn’t feel compelled by the government to buy insurance, and that it may be cheaper outside the marketplaces.
A blueprint for an upcoming tailgate calls for games such as beer pong and cornhole, free Taco Bell and beer. Pictures of people signing petitions to opt out would be sent over Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
I’m a big believer that ‘you start where you are’. So if these guys are coming into my back yard, I will probably feel compelled to do something. Leafleting on the importance of critical care insurance, and the lifelong value of knowing you have insurance even if you lose your job, seems a possibility.
Pointers to any good ready-made leaflets or graphics online gratefully accepted. I suppose if I were really going to get organized about this, I’d try to liaise with relevant student groups (college Democrats?), but that sounds like more meetings….
