There was a report on '60 Minutes' last night about a 'Health Bus.' It was a nice story, and I commend the two nurses and the doctor that donate their time and energy to those who desperately need it. However, there was an underlying story that was not developed, and would have made the work of these wonderful people unnecessary. The governors of 24 states would rather see the residents of their states suffer and die rather than accept a portion of the Affordable Care Act.
Medicaid was offered to all states if their residents couldn't afford to pay for any form of insurance, and the federal government would pay for it for two to three years. These governors said that their states could not afford to pay the price after the feds cease payment. What is more important than the lives of their people? What are the projects that are more necessary and require spending their taxpayer's dollars?
I am constantly astounded how quickly our country moved from being compassionate, and considering the well-being of all of its citizens the number one priority, to a country that takes care of the wealthy and the poor be damned.
The cause is no secret. As a once famous detective said; "follow the money and you'll solve the crime." As lobbyists become more powerful, and influence the votes of Congressmen and Senators, the working class and the poor will be left out. The majority of American citizens do not have a lobbyist, and, therefore, we have no representation in Washington.
Now the extreme politics and do-nothing attitude of federal politicians is trickling down to the states and state government.
The wealthy, including Washington politicians, have great benefits and retirement. They don't want us to have what they have. They want more money. Having a vast fortune is their only goal.
Wall Street was the cause for what I continue to believe should have been called a depression. Not one of the upper management in these companies has been indicted. No one is in a prison cell. If I stole as little as five thousand dollars from one of their banks, I would be sent to prison. Money walks.
We, the working class, pay for the extravagant life style of the 'rich and famous' in several ways. Our labor, all too often for an insufficient pay check, makes them four and five hundred percent profit yearly. Our consistent bad choices at the polling booth continue to create a bad government. Our choice to ignore the growing disparity between the classes, increases their power over us.
It should be a right of every American to receive good health care. It's a fact that those who have excellent health care are the ones who vote against it for the rest of us. The governors of 24 states have pointed their fingers at the poorest in their states and said; "die."
James Turnage
Op-ed
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