June 13, 2006 9:41AM 

# Local Musician Tired of Being Hassled by the Man 

By [Michael F. Cannon](https://www.cato.org/people/michael-f-cannon) 

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A recent [article](http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/stories/2006/06/12/story2.html) on the new Massachusetts health insurance law quotes an aspiring young musician who is skeptical of both the individual mandate and the subsidies designed to help low-income individuals satisfy the mandate:

> “I’m aware that I lead a lifestyle where you have to live really cheaply. So something I think about is what if I tried to do something to make a little more money?” said Crosby. “What if I get a job and I start having to pay several hundreds of dollars for health insurance just because I come out of making a low income? Sometimes I think the state does things that encourage people to stay poor.”

Rock on, Ryan Crosby. Rock on.

##### Related Tags 

[General](https://www.cato.org/general), [Health Care](https://www.cato.org/health-care), [Trade Policy](https://www.cato.org/trade-policy), [Herbert A. Stiefel Center for Trade Policy Studies](https://www.cato.org/herbert-stiefel-center-trade-policy-studies) 

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