It turns retired Governor Greg Abbott (R-Texas) is not conscionable aiding and giving comfortableness to Delta, but helium is doing truthful with your taxation dollars, coming from national stimulus wealth passed by Democrats.
As caller cases surge up 92% since past week, Texas is not lone dealing with the interaction of the Delta variant connected children but besides rising RSV cases. Abbott ordered section officials to STAND DOWN to the microorganism and conscionable fto it rip done their communities. Texas hospitals are rapidly becoming overwhelmed to the constituent of “catastrophe,” according to the state’s largest hospitals, the Texas Tribune reported.
Even if they person space, they often don’t person nursing staff. “Official aft authoritative utilized their strongest descriptions to get the constituent crossed to legislators: Hospitalizations are rising excessively accelerated for them to support up with, and it whitethorn beryllium excessively precocious to bash thing astir it.”
How to hole this occupation successful a authorities known for its sometimes belligerent “independence”?
Federal dollars. Or, rather, MORE national dollars. Yes, that’s right. Your taxation dollars are being utilized to effort to plug the gaping, deliberate spread successful Texas, which their politician not lone invited, but aided for governmental purposes.
You see, Texas was already utilizing wealth from the American Rescue Plan Act to money aesculapian needs. This is however the reddish authorities got done the past question of the Coronavirus pandemic. The authorities was managing the national dollars truthful hospitals could enactment staffed. But then, being tally by the benignant of independent, privatization blessed folks it is, abruptly the authorities announced it would nary longer negociate these funds. That would beryllium done by the hospitals themselves, because (you can’t marque this worldly up):
“We are not abandoning the radical of Texas. … What we’re trying to bash is to assistance marque definite those closest and with the champion imaginable solutions to the problems are the ones that are solving those problems,” Nim Kidd, main of the Texas Division of Emergency Management, said, trying to support leaving section authorities and hospitals to “compete” for unit during a surging pandemic.
But present they request healthcare unit desperately. So, much from the Tribune:
On Monday, Gov. Greg Abbott said the Department of State Health Services volition enactment to bring nurses from retired of authorities to alleviate the shortage. Hospitals tin expect to spot further nurses wrong the adjacent 5 days, said Nim Kidd, main of the Texas Division of Emergency Management.
Who volition wage these surging costs? Texas tells hospitals to usage the $10.5 cardinal allotted to Texas successful the American Rescue Plan Act, and question reimbursement from FEMA.
But Kidd and immoderate senators told the infirmary leaders Tuesday that cities and counties should dip into their corporate $10.5 cardinal successful national stimulus dollars to wage for further nurses — and question reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Some metropolis and region leaders person hesitated to usage that wealth for fearfulness it would trim their quality to assistance their communities retrieve from the pandemic, which is the intent of those funds.
To date, lone 56 Texas cities retired of 216 person applied for reimbursement done FEMA, Kidd (Nim Kidd, main of the Texas Division of Emergency Management) said. “It’s brainsick to maine that these national dollars are sitting retired determination and section governments volition not propulsion them down and usage them,” helium said.
No Republican House oregon Senate subordinate supported the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act.
If you’re pursuing on astatine home, that is: Leave it to locals to benignant retired the messiness you made by refusing to let locals to mandate immoderate wellness recommendations made by the national authorities to mitigate the deadly surge of a variant that was already assisted into beingness by your erstwhile said nonaccomplishment to combat virus, but marque the national authorities wage for your “leave it to locals” abdication of work with wealth from an Act nary 1 successful your enactment supported. Phew.
Abbott is sucking wealth disconnected of enactment done by Biden, Pelosi and Schumer privately, portion publically penning letters to President Biden telling him that Texas tin bring down the terms of lipid if his medication volition conscionable enactment retired of the way: “Texas tin bash this,” Abbott wrote. “Our producers tin easy nutrient that lipid if your Administration volition conscionable enactment retired of the way.”
Oh? Stay retired of the way, arsenic successful 10.5 cardinal dollars retired of the way? Nah. Abbott’s conscionable posturing for the Republican basal who emotion a bully Big Man fake.
The Delta variant has established that this is simply a pandemic requiring each of america to bash the close things (mask, socially distance, vaccinate). So Republican Governor Greg Abbott’s mandate that section officials cannot travel the guidelines acceptable by the CDC to mitigate dispersed are not lone hurting his ain authorities but so the full country. Not lone is helium spreading Delta, overwhelming his ain state’s hospitals, putting young children who can’t get vaccinated astatine hazard of dying — but he’s besides making you wage to stem the bleeding.
So overmuch for the Republican ‘go it alone’ model. The “tough Texan” is thing but a Big Government Grifter of the highest bid – utilizing his ain constituents’ lives to money his governmental future, and sucking up billions of national Biden bucks to mitigate the harm caused by his selfishness.
Ms. Jones is the co-founder/ editor-in-chief of PoliticusUSA and a subordinate of the White House property pool.
Sarah hosts Politicus News and co-hosts Politicus Radio. Her investigation has been featured connected respective nationalist radio, tv quality programs and speech shows, and people outlets including Stateside with David Shuster, arsenic good arsenic The Washington Post, The Atlantic Wire, CNN, MSNBC, The Week, The Hollywood Reporter, and more.
Sarah is simply a subordinate of the Society of Professional Journalists.