The concept of disability or being elderly has no place in the mind of former Louisiana representative Mike Johnson. The now 56th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives defended a budget passed at Capitol Hill to cut Medicaid by $880 billion within 10 years. What’s worse is his reasoning for doing so, claiming that resources are being drained by the wrong people. So, in retaliation, they’re taking away a significant amount for everyone.
For those unaware, Medicaid in the United States gives health coverage to children and families, including elderly people with specific incomes and people with disabilities. I don’t know about you, but cutting $880 billion from a fund that people depend on sounds absolutely ridiculous.
“You return the dignity of work to young men who need to be out working instead of playing video games all day.” said Johnson.
Who is he to make any assumption about what people who are using the program do with their spare time? How could he know what the average person receiving Medicaid even goes through on a daily basis? Various commenters didn’t buy the Speaker’s reasoning, citing previous examples of the same thing happening in different administrations.
“It’s the same old tired playbook from 30 years ago. Blame video games for everything. Before that, it was rock music. These people are pathetic.” via Reddit
What’s even more alarming, beside the fact that I didn’t even know America had access to $880 billion, is that a percentage wasn’t disclosed. How much of that amount is the total amount of funds awarded to Medicaid to begin with? Considering the United State’s stance on medical attention towards those in need, I can’t even begin to imagine how large of a removal this would be.
I find this situation utterly ridiculous. A family member of mine recently became disabled due to septic shock, which has left her with only one functioning limb. She is one of many who depend on Medicaid’s various programs to live her everyday life. Honestly, who cares if she wants to play a few video games while she rests?
It’s terrifying to think of exactly how this will go down and what the aftermath will be once the proposed budget is actually put into effect. Hopefully, there will be something that comes up to try and oppose the removal of millions of people’s funds because of the greed of a few people who hold federal positions.
