Peter Walks for Democracy

Today, the U.S. Senate caved. They passed the One Big Bullshit Bill, carrying out one of the most destructive attacks on the American people in history. It will send us deeper into a debt spiral, make us a global pariah where energy is concerned, throw millions of people into poverty, medical debt, and despair, and exacerbate racial and religious animosity.

At a time when the United States has already lost trust, this just puts the proof in the pudding that the Trump administration doesn’t give a shit about anyone but the ultra-wealthy. The most vulnerable among us have just been made into feedstock for the rich.

• After years of using the debt ceiling for political brinksmanship, Republicans have just added at least $3.3 trillion to the debt over the next decade.
• In an email to members, Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments reports $1.1 trillion in health care cuts, nearly $1 trillion of them to Medicaid, will send 11.8 million more Americans into medical insecurity by 2034.
  • Without Medicaid, dozens of rural hospitals and clinics are basically doomed. That means limited or no prenatal, gynecological/obstetric, psychological, dental, and primary healthcare for millions of Pennsylvanians.
  • Each month, Medicaid sends a stipend to Centre Care for each resident enrolled in the program. They make up a significant majority of the residents. Where will they go?

• The early sunsetting of renewable energy, home efficiency improvements, electric vehicles, and manufacturing tax credits will cost us jobs, raise energy costs, and make the planet hotter.
  • As Solar United Neighbors said in an email, “Phasing out the tax credit would result in raising every American’s electric bills, increase the cost of going solar, and put the entire solar energy industry at risk.”
  • The Commonwealth’s Solar for Schools program was designed to work in synch with these tax credits. What’s next?
  • According to the Keystone Research Center and Reimagine Appalachia, “The 27 Republican districts in [Kentucky, West Virginia, Ohio, and Pennsylvania] have seen an estimated $18 billion in investments between 2022 and 2024, while 13 Democratic districts saw an estimated $5.2 billion.” Guess that goes away. Good job.
  • Based on the calculations from the Biden administration, the Inflation Reduction Act’s provisions would get us a 35-40% reduction in climate warming gases by 2030. Based on the actions taken to date, we are getting locked into climate calamity.

• The religious school voucher program passed 50:50, enabling states to mix the church and the state. States don’t have to have a voucher program. This is a significant blow to keeping religion out of our kids’ schooling and the glide path to creationists and other medieval-minded zealots to enforce their dogma on the rest of us.
• Nothing from this administration would be complete without some racism and xenophobia. ICE got a big boost. According to The Intercept, “U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement will have a budget for more officers than the FBI. The nation’s immigration detention centers will have more funding than the federal Bureau of Prisons.” Welcome the American Gestapo to your streets.

The GOP are a bunch of toadies who wouldn’t know health, security, and common sense if Jesus handed it to them. Our moderate friends have not taken them seriously, paving the way for this nonsense.