Thread by @salaam

$19,825.

Two weeks ago, my wife and I welcomed our son into the universe. ❤️

That $ amount above? The total cost. A day of joy faded as I thought about my privilege of having health insurance and paid parental leave.

THREAD 1/14

Thanks to health insurance & job benefits, we had to pay none of the cost. Yet, over 70 million Americans who are uninsured or underinsured would face a bill that would derail their entire life. Why are we okay with this? 2/14

The reality is that these 70 million outnumber the wealthy 1%. Yet, the 1% have found the ultimate loophole of hamstringing a democracy to bolster their own interests.  Rather than use democracy to reduce wealth inequality, democracy itself has been reduced. 3/14

People say that the system is broken. It isn’t. It’s doing what it was designed to do: screw the poor. An otherwise joyous moment of welcoming a baby is marred with financial stresses. 4/14

Critics then say, “If you can’t afford to have kids, then don’t have kids”.

When they could instead challenge the status quo, “If the system doesn’t let millions ‘afford’ kids, then let’s change the system because families are more important than corporations.”  5/14

Here’s what the status quo wants:
an unprecedented $750 billion dollar budget for the Department of Defense.

For a single year.

Spending hasn’t been like this since WW2, with spikes during Iraq/Afghan wars. 6/14

It'd cost $175.3 billion to raise the poor above poverty. This would benefit taxpayers as it would reduce spending on social welfare programs. The money would go right back into the economy & everyone would benefit domestically rather than innocents being killed foreignly. 7/14

Birthing aside, we don't get time to spend w/ our babies. 25% of US moms return to work 2 wks after delivery. Our son has been alive for 2 wks & our heads are still spinning. 🤯

Returning to work now for many would cause stress ➡️ illness ➡️ time off work ➡️ more poverty. 8/14

Does it have to be like this?

Not at all.

Other developed nations, like Nordic states, have:
- nearly year-long maternity leave policies
- free higher ed, &
- universal health care.

There is nothing saying that America cannot replicate and even surpass this model. 9/14

So when a party claims to be for family values but hasn’t
- pushed for longer, paid parental leave,
- universalized healthcare,
- been truly pro life,
then remember that when you vote. If the other developed states can figure it out, so can we. Our kids deserve better. 10/14

So what can we do to change this? Here’s an idea:

•Support candidates who support Medicare for all. It’s wildly popular among Conservatives AND Liberals.

The GOP is harming itself & Americans by not getting on board. 11/14

Focus on state politicians, not just national ones. States can also pass statewide medicare for all.

I’m in VA. It took YEARS to happen but we did it. You better believe I’m not voting for any candidate who thinks people should go bankrupt b/c they have a baby. 12/14

Educate yourself. There’s a ton of misinfo claiming that medicare for all results in massive lines in Canada & UK. It’s nonsense - both have high approval ratings. They’re not perfect. Neither is our system.

But the difference is they don't go bankrupt for having a baby. 13/14

In closing, having a baby is hard & needlessly expensive. My wife did most (ok, all) of the work, and so I'd love to see them have more time to focus on each other.

Every person in America should have that right.

/End