Letter to the Editor: Progressives aren’t takers

To the Editor:

I find myself writing again not to convince Mr. Quandahl to change his beliefs or voting habits; rather, I wish to ensure any impressionable readers are not swayed by his alternate facts. I have many thoughts so please excuse me if I transition from topic to topic sporadically.

Firstly, I write as a progressive member of the Green Party, but seeing as my only choice to resist the current administration is to join corporatist Democrats I suppose I’ll defend progressives as a whole. Progressives are not takers. I want other people to have access to the things to which I have access. I want other people to have access to healthcare. I want other people to have access to education, to housing, to food.

I don’t want free stuff; I want America as a nation to re-prioritize our investments and to pay for things in a different way. I believe when someone earns something they should keep a big chunk of it, but he or she should also invest back into other people so the next kid gets a shot at the American Dream.

Deregulation leads to privatization and exploitation of the working class.

I recently started a new job. In my first paycheck, the government took a big chunk of my money. I was angry. I wasn’t angry they took it; I’ve accepted we all pay taxes. I was angry my money is going toward an over-bloated military and two unwinnable wars, corporate subsidies, a failed war on drugs, for-profit prisons, and tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy.

If you look at the breakdown, an extremely small percentage of your taxes actually go to things like food stamps or similar programs that help people. The rich have convinced you to hate the poor while they steal from you. I would prefer my taxes go toward education, mental health, infrastructure, housing and healthcare. In fact, if we had universal healthcare, I would gladly welcome the government to take more.

A tactic used to scare off people from universal healthcare is the cost of 32 trillion. They don’t tell you the current system in which healthcare is privatized and the insurance/pharmaceutical industry dictates costs is around 49 trillion. Universal healthcare is the most conservative option we have but it takes away money from the powerful so we don’t get to hear that. You also wouldn’t have to worry about premiums and deductibles.

Another thing I hear is the long waiting period to see doctors. One of my roommates is Canadian and this claim is false. I have yet to meet anyone from a country with a universal healthcare system (every other industrialized country in the world) who has complained about it.

Who knows what may happen with healthcare by the time this is published but with proposed cuts to Medicaid I would like to personally invite you to go tell an elderly dementia patient in a nursing home, a child with brain cancer, or a mentally handicapped individual that they should just go get jobs to pay for their healthcare. Give me a break. Investments in people are what makes a nation great. It’s how we treat our most vulnerable that shows who we are as a country.

Also, stop calling us baby killers. Roe v. Wade was not the start of abortion. It was the end of unsafe abortion. They’re going to happen. We can only control how we respond: education, access to healthcare, preventative steps, etc. No one wants women to get abortions. Do you think we cheer when it happens? What is wrong with you?

I also became annoyed at the mention that “Obamacare was the worst thing to happen to this country.” Really? An attempt to help people get access to healthcare was the worst thing to happen to America? Not slavery? Not mass genocide and continued oppression of Native Americans? Japanese internment? Religious hate crimes? Disproportionate incarceration rates? Wealth inequality? Lynching? Murder? Anyone who wants an example of white privilege please reference the phrase “Obamacare was the worst thing to happen to this country.” Don’t like when I mention systemic racism? It’s kind of like climate change: you can ignore it but it doesn’t mean it’s not there.

One need look no further than the current state of Iowa to see the devastating effects of a GOP-controlled government. It never ceases to amaze me how people vote Republican only to complain when public services and institutions are gutted or eliminated entirely.

In the end, my final say is this: capitalism created this country and what it made was the super rich and the super poor. Unions created the middle class. Groups of people stood up to the oligarchy and corporate greed to fight for the rights of the Average Joe/Jane. Capitalism without moral intervention and regulation leads to a bloodbath of profit at any cost to human life, health or happiness. Please do your research when voting in 2018 because if Republicans get their way, there may not be a middle class to save.

But you shouldn’t listen to me because the devil has obviously possessed me to write this letter. Also, hindsight is 2020. so vote Bernie in three years!

Best,
Jacob Galema
Lansing

P.S. Please don’t complain to my parents about me. I obviously have no qualms about sharing my opinion and they agree with me on every issue except gun control. I know what I believe and I speak with conviction, so I welcome a discussion. I only ask you come with facts and not fear-based propaganda.