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Do poor people have the right to exist? Not in modern America.
America remains the only modern state that does not treat health care as a right.
It is time for President Biden to fulfill his official campaign promise to provide affordable health care to all. Joe Biden's Healthcare Plan states that it will "give every American access to affordable health insurance." Unfortunately so far he has made no such proposal.
Incredibly, the Biden administration allowed the special enrollment period for health insurance to lapse on January 15th. It is now illegal to buy health insurance in America until November 1. This is insane!
Around 1 million people have been killed from the Coronavirus in the United States. How many Americans have to die from the Coronavirus before health care is taken seriously in this country? 2 million? 4 million? What is the figure?
It has been clearly defined that hundreds of thousands of the people who died probably would not have died if we had healthcare as a right (Lancet Study: 40% of U.S. Covid deaths could have been avoided).
According to a recent study, nearly 50 million Americans right now cannot afford needed health care (Common Dreams, 3-31-21). This is unacceptable.
And according to a Commonwealth Fund study published last month, 36% of insured adults in the U.S. surveyed between March and June reported struggling with medical bills. Unsurprisingly, the 45% of the population that was infected with Covid-19, lost income, or lost their employer-based coverage had higher rates of medical debt. (Common Dreams, 8-6-21)
There is also the fact that President Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi acted too late to stop the CDC's Eviction Moratorium from expiring. President Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi knew the nationwide eviction moratorium would expire on July 31, 2021. In light of the Supreme Court's decision, they had a month to pass legislation to prevent this from happening. And yet Joe Biden waited until two days before the program was set to expire before formally asking Congress to pass an extension. Nancy Pelosi sent the House home on vacation, while the Senate stayed in session.
The CDC did issue a new Eviction Moratorium on August 3rd. But it appears to be more limited in scope than the original. (Reuters, 8-4-21). And there are serious questions about the legality of this new moratorium.
Students are being crushed by student debt. Biden has made no significant commitment to cancel student debt. And students have not been given the chance to cancel their debts in bankruptcy court as is the case with other debts.
Currently the student debt moratorium will end in January.
The American people need health care for all, rent relief and student debt relief. This can be done.
Unfortunately, with a Democratic President, a Democratic Congress and a Democratic Senate, these life and death goals are not being achieved.
$3 Trillion has been spent on Covid relief, $1 trillion is about to be spent on infrastructure, and then there is the proposed $3.5 trillion proposal of Sanders and the Senate Democrats.
This means over $6 trillion dollars and still no commitment to provide health care for all like every other modern state.
It's time to treat the current crisis like a crisis.
The bottom line is that poor people in America are dying for simply being poor.
America needs something better than a "get rich or die" system.
The money is here. It's time to spend whatever we need to keep our fellow citizens alive.
RELEVANT LINKS
HEALTH CARE CRISIS
Our Articles
America's State of Emergency 2021 - An Agenda For Action
Social Disaster USA 2021 - Millions of Americans Face Starvation and Poverty
Life and Death in America (Audio)
Time for Action on the Student Debt Crisis
Reports
40% of Covid Deaths Could Have Been Avoided (Lancet Study)
News
How Privatizing The Health Department Undermined Public Trust In Detroit (NPR, 8-6-21)
'This Ain't Right!': Top US Insurers Made $11 Billion in 2nd Quarter (Common Dreams, 8-6-21) Report
Including Environmental and Health Costs, True Price of Food Is 3 Times What Americans Pay, Report Finds (Common Dreams, 7-16-21)
As Pandemic Eases What’s State of Coverage Affordability in U.S.? (March/June 2021)
'Outrageous': 46 Million Americans Say They Would Not Be Able to Afford Healthcare If They Needed It (Common Dreams, 3-31-21)
THE NEED FOR PAID SICK LEAVE
America Cannot Fight the Coronavirus Without Paid Sick Leave (Earth Future Action)
Paid Family & Medical Leave (A Better Balance)
Nearly 200 businesses urge Congress to pass paid family leave (Washington Post, 3-23-21) Read Letter Here
Calls for Permanent Paid Leave Grow as Temporary Measures Fade (Bloomberg Law, 1-27-21)
EVICTION CRISIS
Rent Crisis 2021 (Earth Future Action)
Rashida Tlaib's Bill to Prevent Utility Shutoffs (Common Dreams, 8-5-21)
Representative Cori Bush Sleeps on Capitol Steps To Push for Extension of Eviction Moratorium (Facebook Video, 7-31-21)
Calling New Eviction Ban 'Just a Start,' Omar Says Rent Should Be Canceled Until End of Pandemic (Common Dreams, 8-5-21)
'A Devastating Failure': Eviction Ban Expires as House Goes on Vacation and Biden Refuses to Act (Common Dreams, 8-1-21)
Federal eviction protections have ended, leaving renters scrambling (Vox, 8-1-21)
AOC, Housing Advocates Slam 'Reckless' Biden Plan to Allow Evictions to Resume | Common Dreams News (Common Dreams 7-23-21)
THE STUDENT DEBT CRISIS
Student Loans Back In Focus As Eviction Moratorium Extended (Forbes, 8-5-21)
A civil war within the Democratic Party over canceling student debt is hurting millions of borrowers (Insider, 8-4-21)