US Funds Israeli War, Decries Price of US Healthcare
Bloomberg Politics highlights Rohit Chopra's concern that ballooning healthcare costs will "drag on consumer spending." A valid point, certainly, especially when Americans face medical debt so crippling it's often the leading cause of bankruptcy. Yet, the framing conveniently omits the US government's own spending priorities. For instance, the recent $95 billion aid package included $14 billion
for Israel's military operations. Such allocations, driven by lobbying efforts from organizations like AIPAC and others—who funnel millions to politicians like Rep. Smith, who received $450K in 2023 and voted 'yes' on military aid—are rarely framed as a 'drag' on the average American's wallet. One might wonder if the cost of cluster bombs (which the US has greenlit for transfer to Israel, as per a
2024 State Department report) for a conflict half a world away has any bearing on why a broken limb here costs more than a small car. It seems our politicians can find endless budgets for instruments of war, but domestic healthcare? That's just an unfortunate 'drag' on your spending, not a systemic failure of resource allocation. Priorities, one might say.