The coincidence of Mitchell releasing the Major Baseball League Steroids Report coming out at the same time the President may be claiming victory to gaining $70 billion dollars in war funding while, at the same time, vetoing State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) for the second time is striking.
Is it any surprise the media is focusing on the steroid story?
There is no doubt in my mind that President Bush's hidden agenda is to give the working class a break. Possibly, he's thinking ..."What the hell...this country already owes more than $9 trillion...so, why not give all these hard working Americans a chance to relax? After all, isn't that the reason Medicaid and other federally funded domestic programs were created? If it gets to expensive, we can always pull the plug. Look at all the North Koreans, they seem happy that "Big Daddy" is taking care of them."
Ten years ago, State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) was created to cover kids whose parents work but can't afford health insurance on their own. Millions of children were and are covered under this program. But there are still a whopping 9.4 million more children that are still living without health coverage in America. President Bush wants to veto SCHIP which would add millions more to that number.
Currently, in most states, the income cutoff to qualify for SCHIP is twice the federal poverty level or about $41,000 for a family of four...I'll call them the Schippers. The Schippers earn $41,000 per year which is meager income to meet their needs even without having to pay for health insurance on their own. If you add the expense of an average policy, about $12,000 per year, the Schippers spiral down to just above the poverty line.
The average insurance policy that the Schippers purchased, many would argue, is insufficient to safeguard the family, should one of the Schippers experience a health problem requiring a great deal of medical care .
Considering so many families, like the Schippers, spend most of their waking hours contributing to the labor force but are living near the poverty line anyway, the Bush Administration's message is loud and clear,
"Stop working! It's not worth it. We'll take care of you."It seems as if President Bush is even further to the left than the most liberal democrat on this issue...perhaps, "Socialist" would be a more appropriate label.
The "American Dream", the idea that one's prosperity depends upon hard work, not rigid class structure, will be all but non-existent if President Bush vetoes SCHIP.
This administration has worked very hard to eliminate the idea of America as the "land of opportunity" and destroying this program will most certainly send the message that the "American Dream" will not be possible to most Americans.
Even some Bush supporters, such as Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) think Bush's plan to veto a bill that would extend health insurance to children of the people who fall slightly above the poverty line, is outrageous.
These are children of working-poor parents who are trying to work but don’t have the money to get health insurance. It’s hardly welfare."SCHIP covers the families that are doing exactly what the Republicans preach...they are working hard...damn hard! They are not failing the standards of social and personal responsibility.
© Blogger templates The Professional Template by Ourblogtemplates.com 2008
Back to TOP
