Idiots in Charge

I continue to be completely annoyed with Oklahoma's political decision makers. I won't call them leaders because these people couldn't lead anything. Actually, I take that back, they're leading our state straight into the ground. Does that count?

First of all, they want to cut a lot of people off of Medicaid. It won't affect the disabled, elderly, or children, but everyone else will be considered. They say it will save us a great deal of money, which is only kind of true. It will save some money, but when you cut that many people from your Medicaid program, you lose money in federal matching funds. In fact, we'd be losing way more money in fed funds than we'd be saving from the cuts. So their wonderful plan is not only cruel, it's also ineffective and stupid.

Keep in mind that since ACA passed, people still have to show proof of insurance or be penalized. Normally, if people can't afford to pay, they can get subsidies to help them. But Oklahoma didn't take the subsidies, so these people who will be kicked off Medicaid will also face penalties for not having insurance and no way of affording it. And before you suggest they could get a job, most of these people are undereducated and have children. Poor people have a lot of trouble paying for childcare. Oklahoma doesn't offer any help in that arena either.

They didn't stop there! They also passed a law on Super Tuesday that would require schools to teach that abortion is the murder of a human life and wrong. Mind you, these are some of the same people who don't want anything about actual, factual sex ed taught in schools. They don't want to teach people how NOT to get pregnant (other than not having sex at all). They don't want to educate anyone about anything other than heterosexuality because they claim that is part of the 'gay agenda.'

So what do you call this? Do they not see that they're trying to force their own agenda down people's throats? If a public school is going to teach about an issue, it should teach the what the law says about that issue, not what some group of people think. Sure, various opinions can be addressed, but they shouldn't be pushed as 'the only truth.

TL;DR version: Oklahoma lawmakers believe themselves to be pro-life and, therefore, want anti-abortion things taught in school. Oklahoma lawmakers are also not REALLY pro-life because they want poor people to get sick and die.

So . . . the usual, really.