In 1997 Orrin Hatch and Ted Kennedy co-authored the “Childrens Health Insurance Program, CHIP.” It’s purpose was to guarantee healthcare for nine million children from low-income families. It’s preventive clause has saved thousands of lives over a 20 year period.
Last month Hatch and 50 other Republicans refused to renew the plan. Now the 83-year-old Senator has become the poster boy for term limits. He claims that there is ‘no money for the program.’ Maybe if he hadn’t just voted for a tax plan which will greatly reduce taxes for large corporations, 585 billionaires and 10.7 million, millionaires, funding might have remained available.
However, in true faux-Republican fashion, the working class, low-income Americans, and the impoverished are of no interest to them. If you’re not wealthy, you don’t count.
Republicans believe in one thing; austerity. Austerity never works. They forget the basic principle of capitalism. Without consumers, it fails. Trump’s tax law will cause the amount of disposable income to be greatly reduced as taxes will rise for the middle class and social programs are greatly reduced or eliminated for low-income and poor Americans.
Republicans always fail when they are in power. Reagan, Bush 41 and Bush 43 all left office with our nation’s finances in a literal ‘mess.’ It is easy to understand how Trump declared bankruptcy five times, and even managed to do the impossible; fail as the owner of casinos in Atlantic City.
If there is no money for nine million children, there should be no money for the military, and definitely no money for tax breaks for the rich.
In all honesty, Hatch is too old to be allowed to stay in Washington. The average age in America is just over 39 years of age; Hatch is out of touch with nearly every citizen in our nation.
Wake up my fellow Americans; Republicans are not your friends.
Please re-post; thank you.
Op-ed by James Turnage
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