Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Let them eat dirt
A previous post talked about the problem of the chronic poor that work hard but are low earners with kids with no hopes of getting out of poverty. At the debate last night, Ron Paul was asked what should happen to a 30 year old who cancelled his insurance but then gets cancer. Do we let him die? Some of the Tea Party audience yelled "Let him die!" This reminded me of the Perry question last week that mentioned 243 Texas executions with a huge roar of applause (before Perry answered). Paul hemmed and hawed and Wolf kept on him and he finally said that he would hope that a hospital would treat him for free. Is this the track for dealing with the poor in a Republican or Tea Party future? Let them die? Republicans argue that the health care provision that everyone have insurance or pay a $700 tax penalty is unconstitutional. If we don't penalize them but just let them die, that won't offend the constitution but it's barbaric. Paul Krugman writes on these same exact issues in the Times. Click here for that editorial.
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Ralph, stop drinking the cool-aid! What was not reported was how Ron Paul responded to the question. He did not say that he hoped a hospital would treat him for free; he said that when he was a young doctor, working in the emergency room, no thought was ever given to who could pay. Everyone would get treated and usually a church or other charitable organization would then take over the care.
ReplyDeleteThe chants of "let him die" were pretty disgusting. Morons abound!
I really want Paul to be a good candidate because he's the only one that might reduce our military involvement and budget. I watched the whole debate and he really didn't want to answer the question and his answer that it should be charities means no safety net and that guys that are irresponsible will die (which is how he opened his comments). He doesn't believe in a safety net and it's laudable that he sticks to his guns but he danced all around answering. He and others on the right want to dump the aid to the poor.
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