Page 12
April 10, 2019
O PINION
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‘No One Can Prove I Committed a Crime!’
A Russiagate
reality check
productive lives is valid.
However, even if Trump gives a
voice to your anger, he doesn’t ap-
pear to do much more than that in
terms of solving your prob-
by J ill r iChardson
lems, or America’s problems.
Donald
Trump
Trump appears to run his
is bragging that the
administration like he ran
Mueller report did
his businesses — and in
not prove he collud-
this case, that’s not a good
ed with Russia during
thing. When people advocate
the 2016 election.
running government like a
For most of us,
when we rate how we’re doing in business, I understand them to
our jobs, we don’t say, “Nobody
can prove I committed a crime!”
or even, “I didn’t commit a
crime!” and then pat ourselves on
the back for a job well done.
At this point, we’ve seen the
Trump White House in action for
over two years. Several investiga-
tive books and articles corroborate
the chaos and disorder within it.
Let me say for a moment, to
the people who are angry at the
state of the country, who feel left
behind and disrespected by the mean that the government should
media, government officials, aca- be more efficient. However, there
demics, and other elites, your feel- are some key differences between
ings are valid. Your desire to be government and business — and
treated with respect and dignity, even more between government
to have your concerns taken seri- and Trump’s businesses.
A business is accountable to its
ously, and to have a government
that makes policy to help you and shareholders. The government is
your family live safe, happy, and supposed to be accountable to the
American people. A business’s ob-
ligation to shareholders is mostly
financial. The government’s obli-
gation to the American people is
far more.
A leader in government should
be a public servant, called to serve
the people and improve the na-
tion. A business leader can just be
someone who wants to get rich for
themselves.
I don’t want a leader who runs
the country like a business. I want
decisions and found himself in a
scrape, his father bailed him out.
What’s more, Trump and his
father used corrupt practices and
racial discrimination to build their
real estate empire.
Trump appears to use his busi-
ness and the presidency to bring
wealth, glamour, and attention to
himself. If he’s doing so without
producing evidence of the specific
crime of collusion with a foreign
power, that doesn’t mean he’s do-
Trump appears to use his business and the
presidency to bring wealth, glamour, and attention to
himself. If he’s doing so without producing evidence
of the specific crime of collusion with a foreign
power, that doesn’t mean he’s doing a good job for
the rest of us.
them to run the country like a
country.
Trump’s business is even more
different. He was born into wealth,
connections, and property, so he
didn’t have to earn his way to the
top with experience, education,
and skill the way other CEOs do.
When Trump made bad financial
ing a good job for the rest of us.
The government is supposed
to be accountable to the American
people. A business’s obligation to
shareholders is mostly financial.
The government’s obligation to
the American people is far more.
A leader in government should
be a public servant, called to serve
the people and improve the na-
tion. A business leader can just be
someone who wants to get rich for
themselves.
I don’t want a leader who runs
the country like a business. I want
them to run the country like a
country.
Trump’s business is even more
different. He was born into wealth,
connections, and property, so he
didn’t have to earn his way to the
top with experience, education,
and skill the way other CEOs do.
When Trump made bad financial
decisions and found himself in a
scrape, his father bailed him out.
What’s more, Trump and his
father used corrupt practices and
racial discrimination to build their
real estate empire.
Trump appears to use his busi-
ness and the presidency to bring
wealth, glamour, and attention to
himself. If he’s doing so without
producing evidence of the specific
crime of collusion with a foreign
power, that doesn’t mean he’s do-
ing a good job for the rest of us.
OtherWords columnist Jill
Richardson is pursuing a PhD
in sociology at the University of
Wisconsin-Madison. She lives in
San Diego. Distributed by Other-
Words.org.
What Health Care Means for Families Like Mine
My newborn got
life-saving care
and I got a GED
k aty M oreno
As a young moth-
er doing it on my
own, Medicaid has
become a necessity.
After giving birth
at 17, I re-enrolled
in high school in my
hometown of Austin, Texas. But I
felt lost. I didn’t know how I could
take care of my son — an expe-
rience that was entirely new and
scary for me — and finish school.
Meanwhile, my son Futur faced
his own health concerns. The first
few months of his life involved
constant visits to different doctors
trying to diagnose him. He was
struggling to hold down food, and
no one knew what we could feed
him without making him sick.
At six months old, he was re-
ferred to a specialist who diag-
nosed his condition, and he was
given new medication to treat it.
Futur had his first birthday in Jan-
uary, and his health has dramati-
by
cally improved since he received
the proper medication.
Throughout this frustrating ex-
perience, there was one constant
that helped give me some peace of
mind: Medicaid.
Thanks to Medicaid, I re-
ceived prenatal care through
providers I trusted. Medic-
aid helped cover my deliv-
ery and hospital stay when I
gave birth. Medicaid helped
cover all the doctor visits we
needed to make sure Futur
could eat.
Medicaid became a major life-
line and support as I figured out
how to be a new mom. While I
take pride in being independent, I
know that without programs like
Medicaid, I wouldn’t be able to
properly care for my baby.
The country is currently having
two very different conversations
about health care.
Some elected officials and can-
didates for office are debating how
to expand access to care to more
Americans. Meanwhile, states like
Texas still reject the opportunity
to expand Medicaid under the Af-
fordable Care Act, which makes it
harder for young people like me to
get the care they need to live with
dignity.
We’re the ones who get lost
in the debates in statehouses and
Washington. And there are so
many of us. Here in Texas, near-
ly 1.7 million people could bene-
fit if our state decided to expand
Medicaid — including more than
born, and I’m grateful that I did.
But I worry about the millions of
other young people in my situa-
tion struggling to make ends meet
and unsure of where to turn for
that help.
That’s what programs like
Medicaid can provide — a support
network during challenging times.
would have been possible without
Medicaid. Medicaid saw my son
and me through uncertain times,
and we’re covered by the program
now as I work to create a better fu-
ture for us.
As debates continue around
how to improve our health care
system, please remember that
We’re the ones who get lost in the debates in
statehouses and Washington. And there are so
many of us. Here in Texas, nearly 1.7 million
people could benefit if our state decided to expand
Medicaid — including more than 600,000 who
don’t have any coverage now.
600,000 who don’t have any cov-
erage now.
Rather than making it harder to
get access to Medicaid, as many
are proposing, we should be fo-
cusing on ensuring everyone can
get access to the care they need.
Despite the complicated pro-
cess, I was able to get enrolled in
Medicaid for myself and my new-
And that support can make all the
difference.
I’m proud to say that since Fu-
tur’s birth, I earned my GED and
am currently working towards a
certified nursing certificate. Mean-
while, I’m working two minimum
wage jobs and have the full-time
job of being a parent.
It’s still hard. But none of this
programs like Medicaid are more
than a political talking point —
they help people like my son and
me stay healthy and live happy,
dignified lives.
Katy Moreno is an 18-year old
mother and GED graduate pur-
suing her certified nursing certif-
icate in Austin, Texas. Distributed
by OtherWords.org.