That's the phrase I used in my second letter to my state representative. I had given him a letter urging him to support some issues,including marriage equality and the Reproductive Health Act in the New York State Assembly. In his response, he expressed support for another bill,A.7841, that would defund Planned Parenthood in New York State.
I was just irked by this quote from his letter;"
At a time when New York is desperately trying to revive its economy, I feel there are more appropriate areas for hard earned tax dollars. Furthermore, I do not support using taxpayer dollars to support procedures that my contituents may or may not support."
I considered asking for some Kossack help again, then decided to just go on emotion and sent the following reply. (I purposely stayed with the financial aspect for simplicity and directness.)
Ken,
I must respectfully disagree with your position on A.7841. There is no more
appropriate area to spend tax payer dollars than the health of those same tax payers. Your position is penny wise and pound foolish.
As I’m sure you have heard it said, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Preventive screening for cancers and diseases is much more cost effective than paying for advanced stages of treatments .
Contraception is a bargain for tax payers compared to pre-natal care,labor and delivery, and another person in the social safety net,since we are talking about poor women. Contraception also has the benefit of reducing the number of ”procedures” that some of your constituents may not like.
Pre-natal care for those who wish to have a child reduces costs associated maternal and child health postpartum. Premature births and stays in the neonatal ICU are incredibly expensive.
Furthermore, the US Department of Health and Human Services has determined that these bills are illegal. Federal law requires Medicaid beneficiaries to be able to obtain services from any qualified provider. There are possible financial penalties awaiting states that enact these bills into law.
Add to that the time and money wasted on a bill that will only cost the tax payers more in the long run and it is quite obvious that this is a fiscally irresponsible economic policy.
As I stated at the town hall, we do not live in the “Christian” States of America. While all who live here are free to practice whichever religion they choose, they are not free to force those beliefs on others. Neither is the State to enshrine religious beliefs into law.
I don’t fool myself that I can influence you to change your vote, however, don’t insult the intelligence of your constituents. Be honest- just say “I support fiscally irresponsible religious ideology.”
I look forward to sparring with you on the next issue.
Sincerely,
Curiously, I do look forward to sparring, I guess I'm just that way.
5:07 PM PT: Umm,no. I had no intention of attacking any segment of any religion. Just commenting on the mischaracterization of one persons reasons. While many people will misuse religion for their own purposes, I have known many others who are truly faithful and good progressives. I regret that my title led anyone to believe that this was a place for dog fights.