Sadly, I miss the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Remember, the days when Death and his second-cousin Uncertainty roamed freely among us but we vowed to emerge from the calamity together, stronger.
It was a time when we suddenly recognized how valuable teachers are and realized we needed to give them more tools to do what seemed like an impossible task.
The days when we suddenly understood that many of our “essential workers” were living paycheck to paycheck and were often uninsured or under insured, meaning they were more likely to have underlying health issues that went untreated. It quickly became apparent that many of those people were the backbone of our local economies and communities.
It was a time when we started thinking everyone deserved good healthcare, and food and shelter and—toilet paper hoarding aside— we placed the needs of the many over the needs of the few.
It was a hopeful couple of days.
A mere five years later it looks like we’re back to business as usual.
At the state level it appears the proposed budget will significantly reduce healthcare coverage for undocumented migrants, many of whom perform the jobs that keep the state’s economy running. And who do pay taxes in one form or another.
A significant portion of the cuts are in the state’s Medi-Cal program, which assists low-income households meet basic medical needs.
Medi-Cal funding comes from, in part, the federal government’s Medicaid program which the president and GOP-led Congress want to cut drastically.
Also at the federal level are cuts to the Department of Education which inevitably affect the schools in the Sweetwater Union High School District.
Local K-12 funding could see significant reductions as well as teacher training programs. Opportunities for low-income students to gain access to higher education could also be eliminated, all in an effort to eliminate the Department of Education.
Five years ago we were all about getting everyone healthy and prioritizing teacher and student welfare.
Today those good intentions feel like the result of a fever dream
