In Wisconsin, Suspicion of Big Government

 

Off a road in rural Wisconsin sits a 57-year-old American working in an open garage.

He makes a small amount of money by selling metal parts from broken equipment.

Until two years ago, the man worked as a dairy farmer. He had 24 cows to milk. But, like many small dairy farmers, he was unable to compete with larger farms.

The man says the Affordable¹ Care Act -- the health insurance program known as Obamacare -- hurt his business. Under the law, Americans are required to take part in the program if they do not have a health insurance policy.

The former farmer says Obamacare forced him and many of his friends to spend more money than they could afford for a product they did not want. He says years of insensitive government policies have fueled anger and questions about programs designed to improve American lives.

The man is like many Americans who voted for Donald Trump² last year after supporting Barack Obama in earlier presidential elections. He says that people in Trempealeau County no longer trust traditional politicians.

“All the money goes to the cities,” he says. “All the people in the rural areas this time said ‘we’ve had enough.’”

The former farmer says he voted for Trump mainly because he did not like the Affordable Care Act. But he admits Obamacare has helped him.

Two years ago, he was unable to work because of an infection in his leg. Doctors performed an emergency operation. Today, most of his earnings³ come from a government program for disabled Americans.

Government estimates show that more than 200,000 formerly⁴ uninsured people in Wisconsin now have health care because of ObamaCare. Estimates also show that more than two million Americans have additional benefits.

But the former farmer says almost everyone else he knows did not get sick or injured since they signed up for Obamacare. He says many of them had to pay a lot of money for the policy.

He says even if he did want it, it should have been his decision and not a requirement. He says the government should not have forced him to buy the insurance.

The man asked VOA not to release his name because he fears he will be spied on. He said people should not believe anyone who says they supported Trump for reasons other than their anger over the Affordable Care Act.

Words in This Story

garage – n. a building or part of a building in which a car, truck, etc., is kept

part – n. one of the pieces that are put together to form a machine

insurance – n. an agreement in which a person makes regular payments to a company and the company promises to pay money if the person needs health care

afford – v. to be able to pay for (something)

benefits – n. something extra (such as vacation time or health insurance) that is given by an employer to workers in addition to their regular pay

1 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

2 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

3 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

4 formerly   

adv.从前，以前

参考例句：

• We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
• This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。