RAND PAUL AND TRIBAL CHARITY

Hillary Clinton has finally announced the worst kept secret of the decade by announcing that she is now a candidate for the presidency of the United States. It’s probably a relief for this country’s right wing, because now they won’t have to hold back on any of the really nasty stuff they’ve wanted to say about her.

Speaking of the right wing, there was a recent exchange between U.S. Senators Bernie Sanders, an Independent from Vermont and Rand Paul, a Republican from Kentucky. The conversation took place during a Senate subcommittee on Primary Health and Aging, chaired by Sen. Bernie Sanders, on the “human toll and budget consequences” of senior hunger. 

Panelists discussed older Americans unable to get enough food, and urged increased funding for nutrition programs under the Older Americans Act of 1965. Mary Jane Koren, a geriatrician and vice-president of the Commonwealth Fund, private nonpartisan foundation that supports independent research on health and social issues, noted that seniors often suffer health problems and are put in nursing homes after falling down.

According to Koren, poor nutrition leads to decreased muscle strength, meaning a higher chance of falling—and weaker seniors are more likely to be gravely injured in such a fall, leading to increased hospitalization costs that will exceed the cost of increased nutritional benefits. Actually, $54.9 billion—for increased hospitalization, as opposed to$2 billion per year for the increased nutritional funding

Sen. Rand Paul would have none of this nonsense, however. He suggested that elderly people turn to charity, which rational people know is already overwhelmed by the not so elderly.  If fact. If Paul had his way, even a successful government program such as Meals on Wheels would be privatized.

Paul once preached the Libertarian doctrine that government’s only job is to protect citizens.  That train left the station when he began to agree with the Tea Party on matters such as same sex marriage and abortion – because like many other candidates, he has realized that Tea Partiers who won’t debate anything are now in control of the Republican nominating process.

The problem with being a genuine Libertarian is that you have to allow other people to have the liberty.  Paul has now evolved from Libertarianism to a very old tribal custom that advocates leaving the elderly behind to die as a cost cutting strategy. It’s very efficient, I imagine, but not very Christian or American.