The left has declared war on those who would place work or service requirements on able-bodied recipients of Medicaid.
The statements made against any who support the work or service requirement are powerful and clear.
“You are killing people.”
“You are taking away the way of life of Alaskans.”
“You are stealing folks’ healthcare.”
Let’s review each of these claims through the lens of the Declaration of Independence and our religious and moral duty to the poor.
First: “You are killing people.”
Those who have regular employment live longer than those who do not have regular employment.
Unemployed individuals have a 63% higher risk of death compared to employed peers – after adjusting for confounders pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.
Employment can lead to an increase in life expectancy of up to 10 years, depending on race, gender, and age pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.
How about: “It is a way of life for Alaskans to be on Medicaid and requiring work or public service is taking away that lifestyle.”
In Alaska, a strong majority of Medicaid adults are already working. According to a recent KFF state fact sheet:
In Alaska 72% of adult Medicaid recipients are employed: 49% full-time, 23% part-time, with 28% not working. files.kff.org
How about this claim: “You are stealing up to 1/3 of Alaska’s healthcare”
While 32% of Alaskans are on Medicaid, very few are threatened by the work or public service requirements in the BBB.
“For nothing is more foolish than that in this present life, where men ought so to work that they may live eternally, men should live in idleness.” – Saint Thomas Aquinas
In fact: Only 8% of Alaska Medicaid recipients fall under “not working or looking for work.” www.commonwealthfund.org
That means that 2.6% of Alaskans, overall, will have to either get work, look for work, get training, or perform some kind of public service to receive the benefit. Not 1/3, but less than 1/33rd.
Now to the real question for Alaska and for the US which has to do with our national vision when founded, and whether it is right to ensure able-bodied people earn what they get in life in some way.
From the view of an American citizen: If we are given something, are we not beholden to that system, do we not organize our life around the requirements of that “ruler”? Do we want to have Medicaid as our “King”? A couple phrases from our declaration of independence shed light on the founding principle of America. Give me liberty or give me death.
“That all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights…”
“That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed…”
ALASKA WATCHMAN DIRECT TO YOUR INBOX
The themes of the declaration reveal our ultimate goals of individual liberty, moral agency, and the duty to act against injustice.
Is it an injustice to require work or public service for the able-bodied? I will close with this thought from Thomas Aquinas, a Catholic Saint, and one of the wisest and most thoughtful people ever born:
“For nothing is more foolish than that in this present life, where men ought so to work that they may live eternally, men should live in idleness. It is great folly to live in idleness in this life; because from idleness, as from an evil teacher, we learn evil knowledge; because through idleness we come to lose the good that lasts forever; because through the short idleness of this life we incur a labor that is eternal.”
I think Aquinas would agree that the present Medicaid war is a struggle between good and evil. When you hear Facebook and YouTube ads telling us that a person must persist in their idleness but still receive goods from the State, you can know that this is the eternal play of good vs. evil. It is good to require public service or work for society, but especially for the able-bodied recipient of Medicaid.
The views expressed here are those of the author.
4 Comments
Good article! Yes, medicaid, I believe, is an evil source for those without the will to pursue a work life with intention of those benefits as part of their pay. Medicaid has made a huge part of the population in Alaska dependent on that health benefit by living in places without work or development for any industry source to produce an income. They are the individuals that look for free health care while others pay the taxes to provide for their unwilling attitude to work or add to their lives in a contributory manner. Their children grow up seeking freebies and no development of any kind in their own futures. Medicaid is paid for by the government and free education while the whole of the country pays those taxes and the debts it accumulates.
That’s how government works Diana. We all chip in to the federal budget and then use the Congress and courts to shape policy that agrees with our individual values. I’m dreaming of course. The idea is sound but the application is spoiled by the hypocrisy and corruption of our representatives. Look no further than Murkowski’s blatant hypocrisy on voting for Trump’s horrible budget bill. Nick III celebrated Trump’s endorsement of him thus forcing Nick into a naughty genuflection before the Fertilization President. Sullivan has no relevance after the Pebble thing.
Wise words from St. Thomas, but, God Himself has much to say on this topic that I term “no worky no eaty.”
God calls us to care for the widows and orphans, and I think those who truly cannot work. Proberbs, especially chapter 10 has much to say on this subject. v. 4 “He becometh poor that dealerh with a slack hand; but the hand of the diligent maketh rich ”
v 5 ” He that gathereth in summer is a wise son: but he that sleepeth inharvest is a son that causeth shame ”
Do any of the animal world that God created fail to provide for winter?
Elsewhere, Jesus came right out and said that the man that would not work was lazy.
Well, now I have said that nasty, “L” word.
Mom often said, “instead of a plastic card, give them a bag of rice and a bag of beans.” Well, she grew up during rhe great depression and never went hungry though I am sure she would have liked more variery in her diet
I think within a decade AI and robotics will be running a lot of things, that doesn’t leave room for our youth, no room for the great American dream when your average home now runs half a million when you’re saddled with debt from college not to mention the massive amount of debt today just to give it a shot, one slip will set you back a long ways, AI development is moving at a phenomenal pace and we should all be worried about the near future, I hope the golden age pans out.