RETURN OF THE VASSAL STATE
By Dr. E. Faye Williams
(TriceEdneyWire.com) - The medieval Vassal State was legend for the disparity established between haves and have-nots.
Feudal lords routinely ruled their serfs without compassion or regard
for their humanity. It was customary for feudal lords to live and feast
in the lap of luxury while serfs scrape a meager living from unforgiving
soil. When a serf was bold enough to poach food from the land to feed
his family and was caught, the lord would usually inflict brutal
retribution. This circumstance is often portrayed in the “Robin Hood”
stories.
Most readers would consider this information to be disconnected from
any frame of contemporary reference related to reality, but if we give
full consideration to the “new” Republican budget presented by Rep. Paul
Ryan and project its results to the logical conclusion, it portends an
ominous economic future.
One of the most important tenants of the US Constitution is that
government has the responsibility to act in a manner that supports the general welfare. As I have always known, general welfare
relates to those actions which are so great in scope that it is
impossible for the individual to manage alone. Examples of this are:
construction of roads and infrastructure, public safety services, public
education and public health programs.
The “new” Republican budget eliminates one of these programs and does
serious damage to others. One could consider Ryan’s plan a program of
Robin Hood in reverse. Under Ryan’s plan, Affordable Healthcare would be
eliminated and Medicare and Medicaid would change drastically.
True to their pledge, the Republican budget plan would repeal the
recently passed Healthcare Bill. Among other things, this eliminates the
extension of parental insurance benefits to students and the
protections afforded citizens with pre-existing conditions.
Under Medicare, instead of the government reimbursing doctors and
hospitals for medical services, seniors would be responsible for
purchasing an optional private health care plan. The government would
then pay the private insurer a subsidy up to a specified amount. Costs
for needed or desired coverage beyond the subsidy would have to be paid
for by the consumer or be forgone. Fortunately, these new plans would
not affect those currently age 55 or over.
Likewise, Medicaid would change dramatically. Unlike the current
matching plan that provides for cost-sharing between the Federal and
state governments, Ryan’s plan would have the Federal Government give a
set amount of funds to each state and have the states manage their
individual programs based upon available funds rather than the
healthcare needs of recipients.
While introducing his budget plan, Ryan stated that the US did not
“have a taxation problem, but a spending problem.” Accordingly, his
budget plan lowers the top tax bracket from 35 percent to 25 percent.
One tax analyst projects that this will lower the tax liability for the
average millionaire by $100,000 a year – saving that person one million
dollars over each ten year period. This generosity to millionaires is
said to be justified by the belief that reducing the tax burden of the
rich will lead to rapid economic growth and increase jobs.
One has to wonder why this same premise was unsuccessful after the
Bush-era tax cuts. Under the budget plan, one must also wonder what the
justification is for maintaining subsidies and tax credits that shield
corporations from paying their fair share of taxes.
As I view the Ryan budget plan, I see a fundamental shift in the
economic philosophy of this nation--a plan that places the burden of
economic solvency upon the working class, while relieving the wealthy
from the “nasty” chore of returning revenue to the country in proportion
to the level at which they receive benefits of citizenship.
(Dr. E. Faye Williams is Chair of the National Congress of Black
Women, Inc. and Chair of the Board of the Black Leadership Forum. See
website at www.nationalcongressbw.org or call 202/678-6788)
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