Greed is the explanation!
#The Resistance
is the antidote!
Since the end of the 19th century, the Republican
agenda has, first and foremost, been to
promote the economic interests of the very wealthy.
The primary (economic) goal of the Trump
Administration and Republican Congress is to reduce the share of tax revenue
from the very wealthy and “their” large and powerful corporations. By a
standard measure of income inequality, America currently ranks 45th out of 144
nations – the change in the tax structure by the Trump administration and
Republican Congress will certainly markedly increase economic inequality in
America. In 2008, America ranked 28th among 33 developed nations for
children in poverty households. Likewise, America is an outlier for elderly
poverty and single parent families headed by females. We can expect
increased rates of poverty and reduced benefits available to the poor.
In
turn, such a change in the tax structure will be used to justify a reduction in
all areas of discretionary (as opposed to mandated by existing law) spending,
except military spending This will result in reductions in programs that
promote the well-being of the other 99+% of Americans. Starting with Reagan,
the Republican Party has used whatever leverage to reduce the effectiveness of
regulatory law passed TO PROTECT THE WELL-BEING OF THE 99+%. For example,
budgets have since been continually reduced for the FDA (overseeing the
healthfulness of food and drugs), OSHA (protecting employees in their
workplace) and the EPA (protecting harm to the environment – particularly that
promotes harm the 99+% from a “poisoned” environment).
Regulation TO PROTECT
THE WELL-BEING OF THE 99+% will be under never before imagined attack in order
TO INCREASE CORPORATE PROFITS. Reducing the active role of regulatory agencies
or weakening regulations will expose Americans to greater health risks (and
other risks) of all kinds – at work, as consumers, and through
air/water/food/medications, etc.
In
particular, gutting the protections of Obamacare and throwing enrollees into a
health insurance market that will be more expensive will leave many families
(as much as 30 million over time) without coverage or “healthcare poor". Thus,
making American health care even less effective than all other affluent nations
– in 2015, the U.S. ranked 31st of 195 nations in life expectancy, 38th out of
175 nations in infant mortality, etc. It is almost unimaginable that the
richest nation, with the highest material standard of living, stands alone
among affluent nations without a system of national, universal coverage healthcare
system (not based on affordability).
