By default of living in Kansas, every resident is connected to the actions of its leaders — for good or ill.
By now, most Kansans have learned to accept that Gov. Sam Brownback and his faithful have no interest in expanding Medicaid, the federal program that helps the poor and disabled.
Attempts by hospital administrators and others in health care related fields to convince legislators of the expansion’s economic benefits have fallen on deaf ears.
For the naive, including this editor, Brownback’s reasoning was thought to be primarily political. Expanding Medicaid is part of the Affordable Care Act, which will come to be known as a signature piece of legislation of President Barack Obama’s tenure.
So it was (somewhat) of a shock to learn that in his heart of hearts, Brownback believes the Medicaid program is “morally reprehensible,” as a member of his office reported recently.
Helping the poor and disabled, in Brownback’s mind, only encourages them to be laggards. To Brownback, anyone who can’t earn their own way in life is there by their own choosing. Never mind that they may be working two part-time jobs, neither of which provide health insurance. Or that they may have a chronic illness that prevents them from working full time. Or perhaps they have a child who requires an expensive medication.
And what really eats at Brownback is that public funds should be used to help this sector. Scripture’s “The poor you will always have with you,” does not apply to Brownback’s version of Kansas.
AS KANSANS, we’re all cast in the shadow of Brownback, because as our governor, he is our face to the outside world.
In a recent analysis on Brownback in the Huffington Post, a national publication, the writer said: “It remains to be seen how Brownback’s rhetoric plays in Kansas. The state has never been particularly generous towards the poor.”
Ouch.
Really? Just because our state leaders are misers, is it fair to paint us all as Scrooges?
’Fraid so.
Which makes it doubly hard to recruit prospective employees and industries.
MOST OF us look at our good fortune with gratitude, not entitlement, because we know our station in life is not entirely by our own making, but includes a healthy dose of luck, or, as some would say, God’s grace.
That humility also serves to remind us that the poor and disabled are our own and should be treated as our brothers and sisters, not as undeserving outcasts.
— Susan Lynn
