Arkansas Blog

Krugman, as ever, makes truckloads of sense. I've never understood why, in years past, Arkansas made cuts in its Medicaid program, since (thanks to the state-federal matching formula) the feds fund approximately 75-cents of every Medicaid dollar spent in Arkansas. Losing a dollar to "save" a quarter is nothing short of moronic.

In case you don't understand the Baptist mindset durango, those po folks must be punished.

See, they won't give much to the churches. They can't pay for other things they should be able
to pay for, so they must be punished by denying them basic, very basic, medical care.

This way you see pandemic disease can be shared by any and all when you fail to treat your
least, the ones who work in restaurants and hotels and in a position to really spread disease.

Economist Krugman knows we're a Warrior Nation. We're about 250 years old and we've been
in over 50 wars. A warrior nation must first con it's citizens into supporting the War Machine
first and foremost. Scare the shit of them daily for starters. Do this year after year.

The way our Interstate Highway System was sold to Congress was as part of a Defense Network. Just note the major hubs in our interstate system. All of them begin around a major
defense installation.

When the military forces begin to complain to Congress that they cannot find enough literate soldiers, ones who can read and write and understand enough math to perform the duties of modern Warriors then they will see that education is improved.

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I read Krugman's piece yesterday, and like all his writings it was convincing. There is only one quibble I have with it. He wrote "...because these governments, unlike the feds, are subject to balanced-budget rules." This makes it seem as if these balanced budget requirements would be simple to subvert. But in many cases, Arkansas e.g., the 'rule' is a constitutional provision and ignoring it would be enormously problematic. I don't know how many other states are in the same constitutional boat as Arkansas, but it's not just a matter of 'rules'.

Krugman is an idiot who apparently believes money grows on trees. Excessive government spending is what has gotten us in the trouble in the first place. We've become a nation of consumers rather than a nation of producers. Krugman should visit Cuba for a while, since they seem to follow his prescription to a t.

Wow! Amazing that the right winger proclaims "we've become a nation of consumers rather than a nation of producers" considering that it was the RIGHT WINGERS that caused that to happen with the change over to a service economy forced on us by them.

Oh, and Medicaid will not help the service workers here in Arkansas. If you are between the ages of 18 and 65, you can't get it unless you have children. That cuts a huge number of people that are service workers out of health care, so everyone may as well assume they will get hit by a pandemic.

We REALLY need universal single payer health care, for ALL of us to be healthier. That would take the burden off the states on that issue. Krugman is right.