Yesterday on the House floor, U.S. Congressman Dennis Kucinich said that we are dealing with a “moral deficit” in the United States and its being led by the GOP. The void of morality mentioned by Mr. Kucinich is spreading across this great nation and it has completely engulfed Paul Ryan.
Republican Representative Paul Ryan’s budget slashed dollars from food stamps, Medicaid, and federal employee’s benefits. The man who stands against the mere thought of austerity is bringing it to the neighborhoods he is supposed to protect.
But while this budget is a direct attack on the poor, it also reverberates on the local level. In regards to Medicaid, the state of Florida would be free to slash enrollment for the health program that protects the poor under this budget. Governor Rick Scott has talked about cutting Medicaid in the past and this type of budget lands right in his wheel house.
While America, including Florida, still struggles with economics, so are our residents. The recession almost destroyed our communities and neighborhoods because it was responsible for the loss of millions of jobs and the eradication of wealth for many minorities.
We now stand to aid those very people we depend upon to help our country, but instead we are choosing to undercut them. Paul Ryan’s budget is just another form of austerity that takes a knife to the net that ever so slightly gives aid to the poorest among us. If anything, we should do more to help these individuals, not hurt them.
For those of us who are directly impacted by these types of changes, it is important that we realize the urgency of the situation. Voting can very well be a life or death situation.
As we approach the months of August and November, remember that your vote is your currency. If you don’t use it, things like cuts to Medicaid and food stamps happen.
Watch Jason Henry discuss why privatization of Florida prisons is wrong, HERE.
Jason Henry is a candidate for the Florida House, representing District 46.
