Life expectancy in red states is much lower than in blue, and lower than in many not so wealthy foreign countries. Health care for the poor in Texas is negligible. One has to earn less than $4,000 yearly (13% of the federal poverty level). GOP politicians won't fund health care, even when the feds pay 90% of the tab (as with Medicaid) because they don't believe in taxing to achieve any public goods.
Info above gleaned from Substack columns by Dean Baker and/or Paul Krugman.
Thank you again. I just reread the post to enjoy your word craft and then I read it aloud to my husband. This issue is scandalous in a wealthy country and I appreciate you shining light on it.
Children should never be collateral damage. Baby Ezra deserves the same care as every child in a developed nation. It's appalling that in 21st century America healthcare insecurity, food and shelter insecurity are a reality for so many.
Soulless bureaucrats--always around since the creation of bureaucracies. I once had a New York City bureaucratic job--as a welfare worker in various city neighborhoods. But this was in the Vietnam/Civil Rights Sixties and Seventies, so there was large dose of left-wing political/hippie anti-establishment attitude mixed in--so the typical mindless and heartless cruelty (especially involving children) was much reduced...
Later, I was NY City and then NY State probation office--where the impersonal hand of the law was the ruling ethic-- But still, and always--(partially because my childhood was a such a wretched mess)--I went out of my way to make sure any children involved were taken care of--and that involved my routinely ignoring or deliberately flouting the "rules."
What I never did--and still don't--understand, is formalized cruelty--the deliberate creation and employment of chickenshit bureaucratic hurdles as an INTENTIONAL way of making people (especially children) suffer; I have an image of Stephen Miller in mind...
But really, there's nothing new about all this--It's as American poisoned apple-pie; a flare-up of the amalgam of red, white and blue root-fire of racism and the Puritan's theft of the land itself from the Indians, because according to their God-rationalization, American Indians deserved to have their land taken away because, a) They didn't believe in Jesus Christ and b) Since they weren't IMPROVING the land they they DESERVED to lose it.
So, racism and the religious intolerance of anyone who doesn't strive to AMASS and GAIN are in our national ground water; all it takes is the fatal resurgence of "God" and capitalism (like now ), joined with good, old-fashioned, inbred European racism, to bring out the worst in our otherwise democratic soul...
I see American flags going up everywhere. I’m assuming because July 4th is coming soon, as well as America’s 250th birthday. Am I bad because I won’t fly a flag because I’m disgusted with both political parties? The constitution means nothing right now.
wow, you're good! I wish there were traces of any goodness in the current US government...
Life expectancy in red states is much lower than in blue, and lower than in many not so wealthy foreign countries. Health care for the poor in Texas is negligible. One has to earn less than $4,000 yearly (13% of the federal poverty level). GOP politicians won't fund health care, even when the feds pay 90% of the tab (as with Medicaid) because they don't believe in taxing to achieve any public goods.
Info above gleaned from Substack columns by Dean Baker and/or Paul Krugman.
Thank you again. I just reread the post to enjoy your word craft and then I read it aloud to my husband. This issue is scandalous in a wealthy country and I appreciate you shining light on it.
Children should never be collateral damage. Baby Ezra deserves the same care as every child in a developed nation. It's appalling that in 21st century America healthcare insecurity, food and shelter insecurity are a reality for so many.
Well said. Thank you.
Soulless bureaucrats--always around since the creation of bureaucracies. I once had a New York City bureaucratic job--as a welfare worker in various city neighborhoods. But this was in the Vietnam/Civil Rights Sixties and Seventies, so there was large dose of left-wing political/hippie anti-establishment attitude mixed in--so the typical mindless and heartless cruelty (especially involving children) was much reduced...
Later, I was NY City and then NY State probation office--where the impersonal hand of the law was the ruling ethic-- But still, and always--(partially because my childhood was a such a wretched mess)--I went out of my way to make sure any children involved were taken care of--and that involved my routinely ignoring or deliberately flouting the "rules."
What I never did--and still don't--understand, is formalized cruelty--the deliberate creation and employment of chickenshit bureaucratic hurdles as an INTENTIONAL way of making people (especially children) suffer; I have an image of Stephen Miller in mind...
But really, there's nothing new about all this--It's as American poisoned apple-pie; a flare-up of the amalgam of red, white and blue root-fire of racism and the Puritan's theft of the land itself from the Indians, because according to their God-rationalization, American Indians deserved to have their land taken away because, a) They didn't believe in Jesus Christ and b) Since they weren't IMPROVING the land they they DESERVED to lose it.
So, racism and the religious intolerance of anyone who doesn't strive to AMASS and GAIN are in our national ground water; all it takes is the fatal resurgence of "God" and capitalism (like now ), joined with good, old-fashioned, inbred European racism, to bring out the worst in our otherwise democratic soul...
I see American flags going up everywhere. I’m assuming because July 4th is coming soon, as well as America’s 250th birthday. Am I bad because I won’t fly a flag because I’m disgusted with both political parties? The constitution means nothing right now.