MAGA Congress: The Upward Distribution Of Wealth – Blog For Iowa
Pramilla Jayapal (D- Wash) summarizes how bad the cuts are (1 minute)
Thom Hartmann has a real way of making hard to understand concepts pretty straight forward. In his daily letter for Wednesday, Hartmann explained how MAGA lawmakers are more than willing to take medical care away from 14 million Americans so they can increase handouts ( handouts, folks, think of that!) to the wealthiest among us.
“Here we are again, my friend, watching the age-old story play out before our eyes. The Republicans are preparing to hand out trillions in tax cuts to their billionaire benefactors, and how do they plan to pay for this latest giveaway to the oligarchy? By ripping healthcare away from 13.7 million Americans, including millions of our most vulnerable seniors who depend on Medicaid for their very survival.
But this isn’t just about healthcare policy. This is about the fundamental question that’s defined America since the New Deal: Are we a society that believes in the common good, or are we returning to the brutal Social Darwinism of the Gilded Age?
Let’s remember how we got here. For most of our post-war history, America operated on a simple principle that both parties understood: we take care of each other. This wasn’t socialism or communism; it was basic human decency codified into law.
When Lyndon Johnson signed Medicaid into law in 1965, he wasn’t just creating a healthcare program. He was affirming that in the wealthiest nation in human history, no American should have to choose between medical care and bankruptcy, between their medication and their mortgage, between living and dying because of the size of their paycheck or bank account.
But then came the Reagan Revolution, and with it, the poisonous idea that “government is the problem,” that the market is a god who must be obeyed (and is owned and run by the morbidly rich), and that every person should fend for themselves in the raw jungle of unregulated capitalism.
That’s when we began dismantling the social contract that made America great.
Here’s what the corporate media won’t tell you: Medicaid isn’t just for the “undeserving poor”; it’s the backbone of our system of long-term care for American seniors.
Our beloved Medicare doesn’t cover nursing home care: Medicaid does. In fact, Medicaid pays for 63 percent of all nursing home care in this country.”
This huge cut and cuts to food programs, schools and other communally supported programs are all done so that money spent for the bettering the whole community will instead be going into the pockets of those who need it least. Instead of bettering the health of the whole community Elon Musk gets a bigger yacht.
We are about to enter what I always call the “Patriotic Season.” It is that time of year when we celebrate the USA. MAGA politicians step out at the many events telling us how great they are and how much they love America even as they work tirelessly to undermine our form of government and turn it into an oligarchy.
Beginning in another week with Memorial Day our attention will be distracted by feelings of patriotism. MAGA politicians will be plying their trade with speeches meant to divide us so we can’t coalesce and fight their anti-American ideas. Look, this country was founded not on every person for themselves. What has turned America into the great country that it is is that we work together to solve problems that we can’e solve individually.
Through D-Day, Flag day (will Trump ruin it with an egotistical parade?), July 4th and then through the rest of the summer with town celebrations and county fairs we will celebrate America. As we do, give thought to what really made America great.
Was it our working together to solve problems such as epidemics, living conditions, transportation issues and a large variety of issues shared throughout the populace? Or was it letting individual amass fortune and power and whatever problems they felt like fixing?
We were birthed in community and it is only through community will we survive, grow and prosper. Oligarchy or authoritarianism as a form of government is antithetical to the US. As you celebrate this summer, remember how we got where we are. Rockefeller, Carnegie, Musk and Bezos are not what made America great. Nor is Trump.
Tip of the hat to http://all-hat-no-cattle.blogspot.com
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Governor Kim Keynolds:
(515) 281-5211
U.S. Capitol Switchboard:
(202) 224-3121
Iowa Members of Congress
– Rep. Randy Feenstra (R)
– Rep. Ashley Hinson (R)
– Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R)
– Rep. Zach Nunn (R)
Iowa US Senators
– Senator Joni Ernst (R)
– Senator Charles Grassley (R)
Find More Resources at
IowaDemocrats.org
BlogForIowa Social Links
– Bluesky
– Facebook
– Twitter/X
Click on the “Follow Blog For Iowa” button above to subscribe on WordPress. You can also enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.
Leave a Reply