Today, the Indianapolis Business Journal reported that fifteen Republican Attorneys General (including, of course, Indiana’s embarrassing Todd Rokita) are suing the Biden Administration to block a rule allowing DACA kids access to the Affordable Care Act.
DACA children, in case you’ve forgotten, are the children who were brought to the United States by their undocumented parents when they were very young–children who certainly can’t be accused of intentionally breaking the law, or characterized as “not the best people” in mean-spirited attacks by anti-immigration Republicans. (Okay, to be accurate, MAGA Republicans oppose immigration by Brown and Black people. Canadians and Nordic folks are okay…)
Fifteen states, including Indiana, filed a federal lawsuit Thursday against the Biden administration over a rule that is expected to allow 100,000 immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children to enroll next year in the federal Affordable Care Act’s health insurance.
The states are seeking to block the rule from taking effect Nov. 1 and providing people known as “Dreamers” access to tax breaks when they sign up for coverage. The Affordable Care Act’s marketplace enrollment opens the same day, just four days ahead of the presidential election.
The states filed suit in North Dakota, one of the states involved. All have Republican attorneys general who are part of a GOP effort to thwart Biden administration rules advancing Democratic policy goals.
The lawsuit argues that the rule violates a 1996 welfare reform law and the ACA. They also said it would encourage more immigrants to come to the U.S. illegally, burdening the states and their public school systems. Many economists have concluded that immigrants provide a net economic benefit, and immigration appears to have fueled job growth after the COVID-19 pandemic that prevented a recession.
The lawsuit alleges that “Subsidized health insurance through the ACA is a valuable public benefit that encourages unlawfully present alien beneficiaries to remain in the United States.”
Well, we certainly wouldn’t want these “alien” children to access a “valuable public benefit.”
Not only is this lawsuit more evidence of the mean-spiritedness of MAGA Republicans, it’s incredibly stupid. We’ve had this argument before, after all. There’s a reason California offers health insurance to all residents, and that reason isn’t solely humanitarian. When sizable numbers of people lack health insurance, poverty levels are higher, imposing significant social costs–and people who cannot afford to see a doctor are more likely to spread infections to the general population.
Even if we aren’t talking about serious illnesses, if an uninsured child coughs on a child who is insured, when that child is taken to the doctor, the care she receives drives up costs for everyone.
The GOP effort to exclude poor people from benefits that they are happy to extend to “deserving” Americans isn’t limited to health care. Paul Krugman recently noted the same shortsightedness about school lunches.
Free school meals are a big deal in pure policy terms. They have also met fierce Republican opposition. And the partisan divide over feeding students tells you a lot about the difference between the parties, and why you really, really shouldn’t describe the MAGA movement as “populist.”…
Trying to save money by limiting which children you feed turns out to be expensive and cumbersome; it requires that school districts deal with reams of paperwork as they try to determine which children are eligible. It also imposes a burden on parents, requiring that they demonstrate their neediness.
Overall, the costs of administering means-tested largesse just about equals the cost of food, so free lunches end up being cost-neutral.
Krugman also notes that hungry children don’t learn as well, and cites studies showing that children who received school lunches grow into healthier and more productive adults who pay more in taxes.
But don’t try to explain that to MAGA Republicans–or to the authors of Project 2025.
The project’s magnum opus, “Mandate for Leadership,” whose 900 pages lays out a detailed policy agenda, singles out feeding students as something that should be reined in. “Federal school meals increasingly resemble entitlement programs,” it warns, as if this is self-evidently a bad thing. A bit farther down, it reads, “The U.S.D.A. should not provide meals to students during the summer unless students are taking summer-school classes.” I guess being hungry isn’t a problem when school is out…
The people who will almost certainly make policy if Trump wins are as committed as ever to a right-wing economic agenda of cutting taxes on the wealthy while slashing programs that help Americans in need — including programs that help children.
Refusing to feed hungry schoolchildren–or provide them medical care– in order to save money isn’t just cruel and unfeeling–it’s stupid. There is a reason humanity developed adages like “penny wise, pound foolish.”
Well this year we have a clear choice. One side is proudly mean spirited and stupid.
I sure hope they loose bigly.
Some on the Right have always feared that someone, somewhere, was getting something that they weren’t (except for the rich folks who somehow “deserve” the giveaways). That and some messed up theological “don’t mess with whom god has deemed should suffer” idea kind of describes the motives.
Growing up I learned that school tax proposals (we called them millage votes in Detroit) always did poorly in neighborhoods with a large number of children in private (mostly Catholic) schools.
I have no children. I always vote to pay more taxes for education. Why? Better educated children become better educated adults, which is good for the country and the world. This applies to school lunches and health care as well.
I’m a hopeless optimist (other terms apply) – better education along with shared food and shared music would go a long way toward making a better, more peaceful world.
All children need to be a protected class with their basic needs of food, shelter, healthcare and positive emotional support provided. Also, scientifically research-based age-appropriate education needs to be provided. Positive and diverse socialization is also necessary. No bullying, no need to brainwash in any way and no telling kids they have no rights! Negative disciplinary actions need to be banned. In order for any/all schools to accept voucher money the schools need to adhere to public rules of education. Posting “bill of Rights” on the walls would also be reminders to all teachers about these rights for all students. If parents want their children to learn about their particular religion/faith that needs to be not mandatory and on the side.
Children need to have healthy, positive and progressive futures equipped to take over caring for themselves, their families and this country.
Hungry children are only one part of the equation of evil that has captured the imagination of the right-wing. The agenda is from the dark ages. And remember the Revolution will be bloodless only if the “left allows”? Prepare to bow before the King of Orange MAGA!
Having been on the receiving end of some of that largess as a child, having food to eat makes a huge difference. Unfortunately, back then, as now, there was a stigma attached. Singling kids out for “special” treatment of any kind almost always results in some kind of shame attached. Bullies are quick to pick up on those supposed weaknesses and make it even worse. It makes for a clear division between the “haves” and the “have-nots”.
It was an awful experience, one I would not want any child to have to live through.
Anyone who calls themselves a christian who actively works against universal programs that support children’s well-being should be called out for the hypocrites they are.
What? Children who might serve to siphon of some of the trillions of dollars the oligarchs are still not satisfied to be getting?
These people make me ashamed of the fact that I was ever a Republican!
This is a post designed to make me frustrated and very, very angry.
Republicans are proud of being the entitled class, but many others believe otherwise and see themselves as equal before the law.
Those others have a point reinforced by our Constitution.
November is when the country will see who we are in 2024.
Yes, just feed the kids. The paperwork ties up valuable time of both teachers and school office staff who need to be doing more important things.
These GOP folks are proving once again that they are not pro-life for children once they are born. Vote BLUE.