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Paul Nelson
Tonawanda
There's no point in sugar coating it. I'm afraid you can't simply ignore the latest federal budget and hope things will get better. Mike Johnson and the GOP, along with Trump, Musk, Zuckerberg and Bezos, our best-known oligarchs, want to murder a large quantity of the population.
As a severely autistic adult, my son needs structure and activity. His day program provides that. Millions of disabled Americans and their families depend on these programs in order to survive. They provide a safe environment for the disabled person to participate in activities and public outings. They benefit the families by providing some much-needed respite from caregiving. In addition, they greatly benefit the general population by exposing many people to those with challenges. This is perhaps the most important benefit because people can see that most mentally disabled people are kind, caring individuals; not the scary "psychopathic monster" image that is far too common.
Medicaid is our lifeline. It helps pay for assistive devices like wheelchairs, talk-boxes, (electronic speech devices for those who are non-verbal) transportation, personal assistants for those who need one in school, and many other necessities for those with physical and mental health needs. Of course, it is also the major medical insurance for approximately 80 million Americans, including me. (Yes, my son needs 24-hour care, so I cannot work. I am also on Medicaid, as are SO many family member caregivers.) Our children require our constant care and supervision, so we must stay at home. We sleep when our kids sleep and are constantly observing them to see if they are safe, hungry, comfortable or sick. It's non-stop anxiety for a parent…and I love it. My son is my greatest accomplishment and he has taught me toughness, patience, wisdom and survival skills.
Medicaid was drastically cut to the bone in the latest federal budget proposal; however, that wasn't enough for the GOP. They demanded the budget be revised to cut Medicaid even more. Simply stated, this will result in deaths…many deaths. This budget will increase homelessness and increase the spread of infectious diseases (and much more). This is all being done to allow the oligarchs of this country to avoid paying income tax.
Writing this, I don't know how we'll make it. I hope the state of New York will find a way to provide some help. As usual, this will hit the Trump territories hardest. Those are the poverty-stricken, rural areas where people not only rely on Medicaid, but Social Security and state welfare checks. I taught in a public school district in one such area in rural Pennsylvania -- an area rife with kids born with horrible physical and mental defects due to teen parents using heroin and alcohol during pregnancies, sexual assault, rape, incest and far too many other horrors to mention. Many of these people, including young kids who have done nothing wrong, will die. If you think homelessness is an annoyance now, just wait.
MAGA supporters, your president wants you to "just die and get out of the way" of the wealthy. He even said this about one of his severely disabled family members.
The most cowardly and evil people imaginable are running the show. They put their faith in the Almighty dollar, including the cultist Evangelical movement, which also feasts on poor, rural Americans. Thanks, but I'll remain "woke" and my kid and I will survive this.