Guaranteeing Our Fundamental Dignity
From the AFL-CIO
Signing Medicare and Medicaid into law 53 years ago this week, President Lyndon B. Johnson cited an innate human tradition calling on us to build a more just society: “It calls upon us never to be indifferent toward despair. It commands us never to turn away from helplessness. It directs us never to ignore or to spurn those who suffer untended in a land that is bursting with abundance.”
In the half century since Medicare and Medicaid were signed into law, countless Americans have been guaranteed the health care and fundamental dignity that we deserve.
More than 59 million Americans enjoy health and financial security under Medicare.
Yet, corporate-backed members of Congress are pushing to gut these transformational programs, proposing to:
- Cut Medicare by $537 billion to create a privatized system of health insurance plans.
- Cut Medicaid by $1.5 trillion, imposing new benefit caps.
These proposals are only more outrageous in the wake of a $1.5 trillion corporate tax giveaway. Working people aren’t going to stand for such blatant mistreatment from politicians. That’s why we’re mobilizing across the country and preparing to make our voices heard on Election Day.
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