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Thread: Ravens Make Costly Blunder?
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10-24-2013, 10:29 PM #61Regular 1st Stringer
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Re: Ravens Make Costly Blunder?
To quote the article.
we don’t entertain doing businesses with bail bond companies and gentlemen’s clubs despite the interest to do so on their end, because we believe doing so is a potential disservice to our current customers.
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10-24-2013, 10:57 PM #62
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10-24-2013, 11:17 PM #63Hyperbolic curmudgeometer
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Re: Ravens Make Costly Blunder?
I agree completely, & if you review my first post in this thread you will see that most of it has nothing to do with the merits of the program.
The question is whether it's proper for an entity like a sports franchise to be involved in a campaign to promote public awareness of the law and encourage people to get the facts about what it means for them.
Does anyone have any evidence that whatever the Ravens do is going to go beyond that? I very much doubt that the White House asked for more. And I even more doubt that Bisciotti (who AFAIK is no Obama-hugger) would have signed onto anything more.
This thread, with every post arguing the pros and cons, is exactly why politics don't belong anywhere near professional sports.
With each post, Tony's point is unmistakably proven.
Let me give you an example of why a public awareness program is necessary.
Sean Hannity recently (looks like it was on October 11) highlighted the "Obamacare horror stories" of three couples. Writing for Salon, Eric Stern decided their stories were worth looking into, becauseOriginally Posted by Eric SternHe and his wife Michelle had lamented to Hannity that because of Obamacare, they can’t grow their construction business and they have kept their employees below a certain number of hours, so that they are part-timers.
Obamacare has no effect on businesses with 49 employees or less. But in our brief conversation on the phone, Paul revealed that he has only four employees....
There is only one Obamacare requirement that applies to a company of this size: workers must be notified of the existence of the “healthcare.gov” website, the insurance exchange. That’s all.
I don’t doubt that these six individuals believe that Obamacare is a disaster; but none of them had even visited the insurance exchange. And some of them appear to have taken actions (Paul Cox, for example) based on a general pessimistic belief about Obamacare.
And that's especially important for a demographic like sports fans that probably tends to be more hostile than the general population to "gubmint" & more likely to form their impressions from news sources with a political axe to grind who highlight poorly researched or intentionally misleading "horror stories" that promote ignorance.
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10-25-2013, 12:03 AM #64
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Re: Ravens Make Costly Blunder?
Great post loba. I totally agree. All the Ravens are doing in increasing awareness for a law that has already been passed. They are not taking sides in an ongoing debate on whether a bill should be passed or not. The Republicans have spread a lot of politically motivated lies about the ACA over the past 3-4 years, and as a result, there is a lot of misinformation circulating in the public domain regarding the law. If the Ravens can spread awareness of the law, they will be performing a public service.
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Re: Ravens Make Costly Blunder?
Again, this is significantly far from the first time a sports teams has done something like this. This is nothing new and it, up to this point, has done little, if not nothing at all, to cause an even marginal loss in fanbase or revenue.
"Please take with you this final sword, The Excellector. I am praying that your journey will be guided by the light", Leon Shore
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10-25-2013, 07:16 AM #66Legendary RSR Poster
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10-25-2013, 08:47 AM #67Legendary RSR Poster
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Re: Ravens Make Costly Blunder?
I doubt seriously that this "increased awareness" will include that people are are being dropped left and right from their private plans or that women's health choices are being seriously limited.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18563_16...-low-coverage/
If you think this ad campaign will be strictly informative in nature, I have a tunnel under the harbor I'd like to sell you.
Now, I will agree that the GOP has been telling a ton of lies. But so have the Democrats and the President, the largest being "If you like your plan, you can keep it".
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Re: Ravens Make Costly Blunder?
After thinking about this a day or so, I think the Ravens made a mistake. At first I looked at it like the Ravens were just providing a public service in telling people what they have to do to comply with the law. But then I asked myself, what if the Ravens decided to take money to support DOMA when it was law? How would that go over? Obamacare is a new law that has a lot of people upset. People who go to the games don't want to be reminded of the law. Just my opinion, but I think the Ravens could have spent that time to pick up another charity.
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10-25-2013, 09:48 AM #69Legendary RSR Poster
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10-25-2013, 11:04 AM #70
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Re: Ravens Make Costly Blunder?
Bisciotti is a smart businessman. He didn't just wake up today and realize that the Republicans and their followers oppose the ACA. The GOP just shut the government down and threatened a default on US debt if the ACA was not defunded. They failed yet again of course, but Bisciotti is well aware of how they feel. $130,000 is nothing to a billionaire like Bisciotti, so he did not make this decision for the money. That amount of money may not even cover the Ravens expenses. I think he is doing this because he thinks it is the right thing to do.
People who do not have health insurance, and have pre-existing conditions are likely going to sign up for Obamacare (ACA). This law will be a God send for them. However, in order for the law to work, uninsured healthy people need to sign up as well. Many of these uninsured healthy people are young people between the ages of 27-32. Thanks to Obamacare (ACA), young people can now be covered under their parents' health insurance plan until the age of 26. This is where pro sports teams and entertainers can be of real help. I bet a lot of NBA, NFL, and MLB teams join in such public awareness efforts before all is said and done.
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10-25-2013, 11:35 AM #72
Re: Ravens Make Costly Blunder?
DOMA doesn't require you to sign up for something or get fined. ACA is definitely controversial, and I agree that a certain number of people aren't going to be thrilled to see its presence at the stadium. But there is a necessity to inform people about its existence and the obligations it places on them.
If we agree that this is necessary, then clearly the Ravens are providing a public service by spreading the word. The remaining question is whether it makes business sense. I personally don't think it will effect the Ravens business prospects in even a miniscule way.
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