What should a caring society do?

I read Tom’s columns because he can be mildly entertaining, as he was in this column, where also he was fact free. He implies that Democrats are fiscally irresponsible and enjoy giving free things to people. He says that our debt is soaring under President Obama and that Democrats have no interest in getting our financial house in order.

Purcell failed to mention the financial irresponsibility of the last Republican administration which started two unfunded wars. In fact, it was hard to discern from watching the Republican National Convention that we had a Republican president from 2000 to 2008. And that’s where the trouble began! When President Obama took office following George W. Bush’s administration, our country was on the verge of a financial collapse. President Obama’s Recovery Act helped to save us from another depression and began to return us to the right track.

The Republicans have done everything in their power to slow the recovery. The senate minority leader Mitch McConnell, infamously said that Republican's number one priority was to make President Obama a one term president. The Republican congress endorsed McConnell’s priority by blocking everything the President tried to do. They blocked his job’s bill and they filibustered his infrastructure bill which would have put people back to work modernizing our highways and fixing our outdated bridges. 

Further damage was done during the Bush administration by his appointment to the Supreme Court of justices who shared his political views. When the Citizens United case came before the court it ruled 5:4 that corporations and labor unions have a First Amendment right to engage in independent spending in order to influence elections. This ruling! struck down a long standing precedent that limited First Amendment protection to individuals. Ordinary citizens cannot compete with the money spent by corporations on behalf of candidates who would promote corporate interests. I think this ruling was politically motivated, is morally wrong, and may destroy the integrity of our elections.

My mom was a nursing home patient for the last seven years of her life. She was able to independently finance her nursing home stay for the first three years. As her guardian, I then had to apply for medical assistance in order for her to continue living in the nursing home. I was troubled by having to do this, but when thinking it through, I came to the realization that my mom had been a contributor all her life. Americans of moderate means who live in nursing homes deserve the help of medical assistance during their last fragile years unless we want to become a society that would put our infirm elderly on the streets to fend for themselves. 

The Republican budget includes drastic cuts to Medicaid which would have a terrible impact on our most vulnerable citizens. 

What should a caring society do?

Kathy West

International Falls, MN