Question 1: Planned Parenthood: What is the purpose of the federal budget?
Like many other women, I was deluged with requests from Planned Parenthood advocacy groups to show my support of Planned Parenthood in the recent legislative decisions on the federal budget. Planned Parenthood is a program- one of many- that makes rather expensive services available to those of us on the crappy end of the pay-scale, at little or no cost depending on income. Specifically, Planned Parenthood supplies millions of women and men with information and treatment in regards to reproductive health and family planning. Federal funding of this program allows people, who could not otherwise afford these services, access to life changing (and sometimes life-saving) care. I have been one of those women. In 2008 I had my annual exam and abnormal cell growth was found. Within a few weeks I was able to have a colposcopy performed and to verify an HPV infection, no cancerous growth. Without that exam and the follow up that infection could have gotten a lot worse. Without being able to find out for sure that I didn’t have cancer I would have worried myself sick, probably sicker than what I was. I also get my birth control through a federally funded clinic. Because of this use of government funds I have been empowered by my country to choose when/if I have a baby, and to be prepared when I get pregnant. I really appreciate the access to the treatment that I am provided with and the freedom to engage in a healthy and uplifting sexual relationship without becoming pregnant. I believe that federal funding of this program allows people to take advantage of scientific progress that gives us more control over our physical lives than we would otherwise- it allows us to really embrace what it means to be human beings. This makes this specific budgeting issue very important to me. So, what are the questions here? On the surface this seems to be plainly about money. There are limited funds and a lot things that need money, so some things have to get cut right? It took me a while to work around this issue, and it wasn't until the decision was made (in favor of PP) that I realized the core question.
I am an advocate of personal responsibility- choosing with forethought, in acceptance of any possible results- including things that could happen that I can’t control or predict- and then being responsible for the results, no matter what they are. You weight the options and the outcomes and decide what to do in any decision right? When I heard all the fuss my first question was:
Should the government have to supply any citizens with access to free/low cost birth control? Shouldn't being able to afford the birth control (ie, having income and managing money properly) be the inital of personal responsibility for anyone engaging in a sexual relationship?
This is a good question, but not the applicable issue here. Not only does Planned Parenthood do a lot more than just BC pills, but that sort of thinking sidesteps the budget vote and addresses philosophical issues that probably won’t be resolved in the near future (curious teenagers are just going to not have sex because they don’t have money right? I think not). It took me a while to realize that I was looking at the wrong aspect of the issue for the current question. Yes, it’s an issue of responsibility, but in this case it is a different responsibility. So, the first applicable question I came up with is:
What is the budget?
The money the government is trying to decide what to do with is our money. It is our taxes, our donations- it is the money we put into the pool that allows the U.S. to care for the U.S., for us. Without the people there is no United States- without a “governed” there is no “government”. The reason there was an issue is because the government was trying to decide if funding for family planning was a priority to the government's interests instead of looking at the interests of the people. We have agreed to act as citizens by obeying the laws that we believe are in our interest as a united whole, including taxation. We pay taxes because it is required of citizens to participate in their own care, the care of the country. The same way you pay dues to any social or religious organization you are a member of, you pay to be a member of the organization that is the United States. And the same as a church or a social club or a credit union even, the people who pay have the say. The people who exchange some value in the form of money for the values of being a member of a group- values like police, road repairs, regulation of food preparation etc.- are the power of the group. As in any organization, in many cases we agree to the direction of those who have experience and knowledge that we may not possess as individuals. We defer to economists who look at economic conditions the way we defer to a meteorologist looks at the conditions that define weather. We trust doctors to heal us, judges to make fair rulings- those with knowledge. And for the most part, when we trust people who have proven they can be depended upon, this helps us with efficiency and overall productivity. This is why we elect officials to be our spokespeople. BUT, it is up to us to know whom we are electing and to monitor their behavior once they are on a decision making platform- what sort of person they are, what is important to them, what they think and what they do about what they think. The job of those elected is to consider the experts and the will of the people. And if the will of the people is not in the best interest of the people, it is their job to explain the conflict so that we, the people, can then make a better informed decision; they are not to just do whatever is in their interests and then kiss-ass to get reelected after they earn our distrust. The question that needed to be asked, the real question, when those who we have voted into office were making decisions that we disagreed with is this:
Is reproductive healthcare a budget priority for American citizens?
Americans spoke out and we gave our elected officials a resounding YES! We actually used the system the way it was meant to be used.
From the looks of things it was not a priority for those in office. They have other things they would like to use our money for. Maintaining military footholds in other countries takes precedence over healthcare or peace efforts. Things like commercial space craft are a bigger priority for them than financing sustainable energy sources. Washington threatened to come to a standstill over budgeting disagreements (but of course in the last instant they didn’t, they like to eat too). I would like to know, how many Americans were actually that split over the budget choices? And because every good question brings up more good questions, here they are:
If federal budget issues were taken to the polls would Americans have been in a deadlock or would there have been a clear majority idea of what we want to spend OUR money on?
Why don’t high school economics or social studies or U.S. Government classes explain things like this so that the 18 year old graduates can go into their first voting year informed about why voting is so important and with some idea of what they want to vote for?
If the majority of Americans no longer support war efforts, why is our money still being spent on those efforts?
How much money was paid in taxes in 2010? How are those funds being allocated?
Money is such an important consideration for people, why do they just bitch about taxation instead of seeing what is actually going on and uniting to change what doesn’t comply with the wishes of the people?
Why are those who can afford their healthcare lobbying to make is so that the majority of American citizens don’t have access to affordable healthcare? Or are they? Who actually supports (initiates and progresses) the policies that so many Americans do not agree with? What majority of what group makes it happen? What is their goal? Or is this just the end-result of an overall lacksidaisical attitude about personal involvement in the government?
No comments:
Post a Comment