SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
December 7, 2017
Sullivan’s
Salvos 12/12/17
In this edition:
*RIP Peter Feldstein
*Grassley’s World
*Evil and Medicaid?
*Evil and the Tax Bill?
*What Now?
*Holiday Shopping and Events?
*Did You Know?
*RIP Peter Feldstein
I
was sorry to hear of the passing of Peter Feldstein, UI Art instructor and
author of The Oxford Project. (If you have never seen it, check it out!) Peter
was a great guy, who always seemed to have a smile on his face. I will miss
him.
*Grassley’s World
Like
most Americans (according to Chuck Grassley), I am going to spend my money on
booze, women, and movies. Who’s with me?
*Evil and Medicaid?
Evil.
What does it really mean? The dictionary definition is, “Profoundly immoral and
malevolent.” There are three parts there:
Profound:
It has to be intense. This cannot be something small. It has to have serious
consequences.
Immoral:
Not conforming to standards of decency. This has to be something no reasonable,
decent person would do.
Malevolent:
Desiring to do evil to others. This means you have to intend to do evil. You
need to know that what you are doing is wrong.
I happen to believe
that “profoundly immoral and malevolent” is a very fitting description of
Iowa’s failed Medicaid privatization scheme. It touches all the bases!
Is
it profound? Medicaid serves the most vulnerable members of our society. First,
you must be incredibly poor. Then you need to fit a second category of need.
For example, most Medicaid recipients are children. The next biggest group is
people living in nursing homes. The third largest group is people with
significant disabilities. These are people whose health can easily be
negatively affected.
I
would argue that the impact has been profound. In addition to targeting the
most vulnerable Iowans, Medicaid serves 1 in 6 Iowans. So the scale is
profound, too. It is a very big deal!
Is
it immoral? Who amongst us would take medicine from a child? Who amongst us
would throw a senior citizen out of a nursing home? Who amongst us would throw
a person with disabilities out of her group home? Aren’t those acts immoral?
This
is EXACTLY what the privatization of Medicaid has done! So, it follows that the
privatization of Medicaid has been immoral.
Is
it malevolent? This is the toughest piece. That it is profoundly immoral is not
in question. Now we must determine if a person KNOWS it is profoundly immoral.
There
are two options here in the case of Governor Reynolds. If she understands that
her decisions have been profoundly immoral, she has committed a truly evil act.
If she does not understand, then she is too ignorant to serve as Governor.
It
is really quite simple. Medicaid privatization was an evil act. Evil is in our
midst. There is no point calling it anything else. Disagree? Please explain
your reasoning. I would like to be convinced there is more to this; I really
would.
So I ask you – faced with this evil, what are we going to do?
*Evil and the Tax Bill?
On
a State level, it is Medicaid privatization. On a federal level, it is the tax
bill. Same thing - profoundly immoral
and malevolent.
Again – if you disagree, please explain your reasoning. I would like to be
convinced there is more to this; I really would.
And
once again, I ask you - faced with this evil, what are we going to do?
*What Now?
So.
We have Privatized Medicaid malevolently injuring the poor. We have a GOP tax
bill malevolently injuring the poor. What are we going to do about it?
For
one, I would like to see the media wake up. There are tactics being used NEVER
BEFORE used in the history of the US Senate. Why aren’t we hearing this? The
media treats both of these topics as having two potentially correct sides. It
does NOT have two correct sides. There IS a set of facts out there, and they
should be reported as such.
But
that is the media. What about those of us that are just regular folks? What can
we do?
Unfortunately,
we are limited. I think it comes down to electoral politics. The 99% have been
ignored, and will continue to be ignored until we have an electoral revolution!
*Holiday Shopping and Events?
Planning
your Holiday events? Starting your Holiday shopping? If so, please remember to
look for the little blue sign that says, “We support the Johnson County Minimum
Wage - $10.10.”
Obviously,
Republicans in the Iowa Legislature took away Johnson County’s ability to set a
minimum wage. But a coalition of local individuals, led by the Center for
Worker Justice, have gone door-to-door to local businesses, asking them to
pledge to pay at least $10.10.
And
the campaign has been very successful! Already over 150 local businesses have
made the pledge, with more businesses pledging every day.
I
am going to spend my dollars in a way that does some social good. I am going to
spend my dollars in a way that reflects the teachings of the season. I am going
to support businesses that pay $10.10 this Holiday season. I hope you will do
the same!
*DID YOU KNOW?
A common argument you hear from the GOP is “many low income people don’t
even pay taxes.” Nothing could be further from the truth. Lower income people
may not pay income taxes. But they are paying payroll, sales, and other taxes.
As a matter of fact, lower income individuals pay a far higher percentage in
taxes than do wealthier people.
Anyone
interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the
County website-
"Sullivan’s
Salvos" is sent once per week to any interested party. It will give a
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As always,
feel free to contact me at 354-7199 or rodsullivan@mchsi.com. I look forward to
serving you!
---Rod
posted by Rod Sullivan @ 5:35 PM
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