Progressives Push to Cancel ALL Medical Debt

On May 8th, 2024, a coalition of progressive senators, including Sens. Sanders, Merkley, Khanna, and Tlaib, introduced a measure to cancel all $220 Billion in medical debt held by Americans.  They cited a staggering figure: 27% of all working-age Americans have at least $500 in medical debt, with 15% having more than $2000.

If you’re interested in the specifics, you can read the announcement and the full bill text here.

In the richest country in the history of the world, this should be a no-brainer. What is the point of all that wealth if it’s not being put towards our people? That should be a rhetorical question, but I’m not convinced it’s one the wealthy have ever asked–or at least if they have, it’s not one that they’ve ever attached a human face to. No, they’d rather hoard and hoard.

https://www.reddit.com/r/comics/comments/dvgfrt/jeff_the_origin/

Just like student debt, medical debt affects us all, regardless of whether you hold it. It is not greed or selfishness that drives people to push for relief, just a simple human need for even the slightest sense that we care about them, that they matter. It shouldn’t be that much to ask.

A lot of pieces like this one will probably go into the various economic aspects of the issue to try to make the case, trying to appeal to people who don’t see other people, only money. Me? I don’t give a fuck. I wouldn’t care if it bankrupted the entire economy. If we can go into trillions in debt so we can bomb and murder and bail out the people who scam us, then we can extend a helping hand to those who actually need it.

This is a simple moral case. If you see someone that needs help and you have the means to help them, you do. Full stop. It is a moral obligation.

This measure is going to be called radical. It’s going to be called Marxist and Communist. It’s going to be called insanity. Where is that outcry when we bail out banks? When we give tax breaks to billionaires?

No, I’m not even going to play ball. Americans deserve this. We need it. There’s no further debate.

When you see those attacks, stand firm. We need nothing more than the simple human ultimatum: people deserve basic human dignity. We deserve basic human dignity. Stand firm on that. That’s all there is to it.