Unfortunately, I have a Republican Congressman. We failed, miserably, in the efforts to retire him from his incredibly gerrymandered district. He has been touting the Ryan Budget — a disaster in the making for America. I have written a message for him — he’ll be getting it often — email, post, phone. It’s included under the fold for anyone that wants to adapt it to their Congressman.
I am writing today to plead with you not to pass the Ryan budget. This monstrosity of a bill is designed, specifically, and with ill intent, to cause Medicare and Medicaid to fail, at a time when they will be most critical for the elderly and poor of our nation.
Forcing individuals to shop for insurance on the open market, without the power of collective bargaining, is the natural way to make that insurance as expensive, and therefore, as useless, as possible. Furthermore, you will be asking the part of our population that has the highest needs and the most expense to do so, raising prices for once again. That tens of millions will not be able to pay for any gap between their voucher and this added expense is simply added cruelty.
Block grants, as are planned for food stamps and medicaid, cannot be trusted as a source of aid to the poor. They are designed to become forgotten, underfunded programs, open to corruption at the state level. We know, without a doubt, that they fail. Badly. Temporary Assistance For Needy Families was converted to block grants in 1996. At that time, it was distributed to 76% of families with children beneath the poverty line. By 2012, that was reduced to 24%. TANF completely failed to serve us during the last Great Recession. Food stamps worked. They are a lifeline that must not be taken away.
Furthermore, these policies will remove the ability of the poorer consumer to, well, consume. Our industrial and commercial sectors cannot function without consumers to sell to. It will cost our employers the market that they sell into. The corporations you once served as a lawyer will tell you - without customers, they will shrink or go out of business. Unemployment WILL rise in the wake of these policies. The handful of individuals that will benefit from your budget simply cannot spend enough money to replace them as consumers. This will cause a cycle where more people will need these programs, not receive them, and therefore not be able to be customers, causing yet more unemployment. You must not enact this plan. It is a massively worse way for all Americans - especially the corporations that are your constituent's districts.
Thank you,