As I write on this Sunday evening, it is Halloween, and
trick or treaters are finding their way through our decorated neighborhoods. I
am glad for them that this night of merriment has returned to normalcy despite
the continued presence of COVID. Goodies are often being given out with a no-contact
routine; one nearby family even rigged a chute from a second-story window to
deliver candies when the ground-level lever was depressed. There is no shortage
of American ingenuity, it seems!
The Congress, on the other hand, seems to have been
captivated by gremlins; it cannot seem to fashion a bill to move President Bidens’
program to “Build Back Better (BBB)” into reality. Despite having set many
schedules for a vote in the House, even the extraordinary skills of House
Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and the entreaties of their very own President, the House
Democrats, and the two recalcitrant Democratic Senators cannot seem to find
common ground on a proposal that is overwhelmingly supported by Democrats and even
most Americans. The bi-partisan infrastructure bill, passed months ago by the
Senate has not yet had a vote in the House because the Progressives have said
they would only vote for it when it was paired with the social spending issues
laid out in the Presidents’ bill.
Senators Manchin and Sinema were on the bi-partisan
committee that got the infrastructure Bill passed in the Senate. I think they
thought they could point to this spending program and say–okay, over and done–we
do not need to rush on the other soft programs. Manchin even proposed at one
point putting discussion of the BBB off until next year. That delay is
precisely why the Progressive Caucus has said “no” and causally linked the
passage of the two pieces of legislation. Despite the president indicating he
had the okay of the two senators and had seen a framework of the bill, few
others had seen the actual wording of the proposals. Finally, on Friday, there
was a draft copy of the legislation. It is well known that legislation is best
made by compromising and trust on both sides. There appears to be little of
that in evidence here. So, without seeing the final drafts, in what I mention
below, I summarize best guesses from multiple sources about the draft.
Several provisions which the progressives held dear appear,
according to several news reports, to no longer remain as part of the
legislation. It is unclear how drug costs will be reduced, but they will still
forbid Medicare from negotiating costs, it seems. There will be no free
community college. Taxing the rich is apparently also out, which takes away the
proposed funding mechanisms. So, Family and Medical Leave, which had first been
proposed for twelve weeks, was reduced to four weeks, then cut altogether, if
reports are correct. Manchin was said to oppose it because it did not contain a
work requirement. That seems absurd–one cannot take leave from a job if there
is no job! He also opposed innovations in alternative energy and reducing drug
costs under Medicare and has not supported Senator Sanders’ ideas for Medicare expansion-added
vision or dental benefits were not allowed-but hearing aids are in. He tried to
cut back many of the climate change suggestions in the BBB.
On the positive side, expanded universal pre-K remains in,
as does an immigration overhaul, funding for some clean energy programs and
electric vehicles. Also, the child tax credit is extended for one more year
(the original proposal was for ten years.) There are billions for energy tax
credits and some affordable housing initiatives. There will be a minimum 15%
tax on corporations and some stock transactions.
The Senator said that West Virginians dislike entitlement
programs: “Last month, Manchin told reporters he cannot accept our economy, or
basically our society, moving towards an entitlement mentality” and called for
Democrats’ social welfare proposals to only benefit those in desperate need.”
He should look no further than his own state, which has
dismal social problems and a floundering economic program.
According to the Kaiser Family Foundation
report on West Virginia in 2017: 29% of the states’ population is on Medicaid,
the highest in the nation. The per capita income is the second-lowest of the
fifty states. The report indicates:
“West Virginia had the
highest opioid death rate in the country in 2015 (36 deaths per 100,000
population). From 2013 to 2015, West Virginia’s opioid death rate grew by 29%.
West Virginia also has the highest obesity rate in the country (71.1%)”
Statistica
reports that 44% of the state’s population receives employer-based health
insurance, and 19% of the population is on Medicare; besides the Medicaid
numbers noted above, about 7% of the population is uninsured.
The state has a population of 1.792 million (2019) and has
had 4,426 COVID deaths,
with approximately 227.000 reported cases; the vaccination rate is 43% fully
vaccinated. None of these are positive numbers as I read them.
The Senators’ estimated wealth is
approximately five million dollars; he has investments in the coal industry
among other businesses. His daughter Heather is CEO of Mylan pharmaceuticals
and is also a millionaire; his son manages a coal-related business.
Arizona was
one of the last states to accept Medicaid after it was initially introduced. It
accepted the expanded Medicaid program under the ACA but imposed a work
requirement. This requirement was removed by President Obama, reinstated by his
successor, and removed again by the Biden administration and COVID legislation.
As of mid-2018,1,688,791 Arizonans were covered by Medicaid and the CHIP
programs. To date, there have been 1.17 million COVID cases in the state which has
had 21,153 deaths. Arizona has a population of approximately 7.729 million
residents and has a fully vaccinated rate of 53%.
So, as you can see here, two senators who fully represent
fewer than ten million people are holding up or reducing legislation
that could benefit the other 320 million people in this country. Neither
of their states is wealthy, and both receive Federal benefits in excess of
their contributions. According to Wallethub, both Arizona, #7, and West Virginia #5,
appear in the top ten states most dependent upon the Federal Government.
(Maryland is ranked 19th.)
So, what has remained of the $6 trillion (Sanders) $3.9
trillion (Biden), spending bill? It is now much closer to Manchin’s $1.5
trillion demands, with maybe a $1.75 trillion compromise agreed to by the
president. Now, the legislators have to get their heads together and breathe
some life into what has become a severely truncated bill. Not only have these
ruminations and non-negotiations hurt the president, but they are also said to
be hurting Terry McAuliffe in the tight Virginia Governor’s race since it looks
as if Democrats cannot deliver on promises made. The polls have the president’s
approval rating also falling. To me, this all seems to move in slow motion with
hopes by some that the longer it takes, the less it might cost!
The Virginia Governor’s race has the Republican candidate
attacking the Pulitzer Prize-winning book “Beloved” by
the renowned African American author Toni Morrison, who died in 2019. Her book,
which discusses in detail the brutality of slavery, is not an easy read but many
consider it an American classic. In this attack he gets to make many more
cultural arguments–he attacks McAuliffe for vetoing a law which would have
banned the book in schools, he scores points on banning books, and he also
attacks a Black woman author and her descriptions of slavery–that part of history
he also does not seem to want to be taught in schools. The polls currently
consider this race too close to call with Youngkin said to be closing hard. I
hope that the Democratic majority in Virginia turns out and makes a return
cultural statement–that they do not choose to have a governor who is anti-abortion,
anti-mask, tepid on vaccinations, who is pro-MAGA, and prefers to talk about
critical race theory instead of the real problems such as housing, healthcare,
and poverty which exist in the state. As some people say–book banning is the
first step toward authoritarianism and restraining critical thinking is
another. I have my fingers crossed on this race; I so do not want to see
demagoguery win out.
**************************************************************************
We expect that preliminary approval will be given for
children 5-9 to receive two separate reduced doses of the Pfizer vaccine this
week by CDC. Montgomery County dropped the indoor mask mandate for a few days
because the incidence of recent cases was under the threshold established for
several days; a couple of days later, the rule was reinstated as cases again
rose. The Frederick County rate remains high. Such is the path of this virus–so
frustrating. The US is reporting that 192 million people are fully vaccinated,
but that is only a rate of 66%. Maryland remains at 66% fully vaccinated as
well.
Total COVID Stats – NY
Times
US Totals: Total Cases: 45,935,095. New Cases: 72,961.
Total Deaths: 745,535. New Deaths: 1346.
Maryland Totals: Total Cases: 561,501. New Cases: 741.
Total Deaths: 10,895. New Deaths: 13.
***********************************************************************************
This week the US
Supreme Court will hear oral arguments about the Texas
vigilante abortion law and the Alabama law which restricts abortions after 15
weeks. Expectations are that they will not outright ban abortions but may
impose restrictions that will gradually erode rights American women have had
for almost half a century. They will probably delay decisions in the Mississippi case, but one might be given in a timely fashion for the Texas case. Justice
Thomas will finally get to hear another gun rights case as an appeal of
personal carry regulations in the State of New York will be heard.
‘Til next week – Peace!
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