The passage of health care legislation should not be the biggest news for Black folks coming out of the White House recently, especially when unemployment approaches 20%.
Defense of the Obama Administration’s leadership in the health care process has been a little perplexing, to say the least. Although there is a clear need to improve the accessibility of health care coverage for all Americans, the primary issues involved in the health care debate – lower cost for quality coverage and decreased impact on the national economy – were clearly overlooked with the legislation.
We cannot do the same in regards to the overall economic outlook for the youth and Black America.
Despite experiencing what many are calling victorious times for Americans in need, the grim reality of consistently-high unemployment rates only reflect a deeper problem: policies that threaten long-term employment vitality will hinder the overall health of Americans in need, regardless of government-mandated health care laws. And for those that have been caught up with defending the president against the fringe elements of the conservative movement and denouncing the Tea Party, there are items out there that are also worthy of such staunch dedication.
For starters, it should include walking away from the Tax Party celebrations of health care reform and looking forward policies that impact what matters most: jobs.
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The celebration of health care reform within urban America must be cautiously tempered by the 16.9% unemployment rate that has been inadequately addressed by the White House and congressional leadership while the fight for health care reform took priority. History shows that this prioritization was incorrect: those with access to good jobs naturally have a higher quality of health care as well as better educational opportunities and more stable family households. In essence, to celebrate the accomplishment of a highly-controversial and oft-misunderstood approach to health care reform is to celebrate the misappropriation of attention and resources to better, more long-term solutions to the problems facing our communities. Notably, this stings in light of Congress’ problems with passing extensions for unemployment benefits before heading to spring recess and the failures of the stimulus package to impact Main Street the way it has bolstered Wall Street in recent months.
True death comes to a people when they do not have access to personal wealth, be it economic, educational, or spiritual. Social trends show that accessibility to all of these increases along the lines of access to jobs, not government-mandated health care. This especially true when the Americans impacted by these new laws are unable to comply with the mandates enumerated in “reform.” New information from the IRS suggesting that tax refunds will be forfeited back to the government for those that do not purchase health insurance does nothing to help the roughly 20% of African-American workers and a high number of others that are unemployed, not at a time when that money would be used to piece together bills during these tough times.
It is very hard to celebrate the accomplishments of a political set when so many others continue to lose and struggle, especially as the rumble in the bel
