Millionaire senator says healthcare, food and shelter are privileges, not rights

Latest

Healthcare rally in Los Angeles. More and more Americans believe healthcare is a right and that government must insure our needs—not corporate needs.
PHOTO/MOLLY ADAMS

 
A few months ago, millionaire Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) told a group of high school students near Milwaukee that healthcare, food, clothing and shelter are privileges, not rights.
A student asked Johnson, “Do you personally consider healthcare as a privilege or a right?” The senator replied: “I think it’s probably more of a privilege. Do you consider food a right? Do you consider clothing a right? Do you consider shelter a right? What we have as rights is life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Past that point, we have the right to freedom. Past that point everything else is a limited resource that we have to use our opportunities given to us so we can afford those things. Sen. Rand Paul talked about this on the floor of the Senate. He’s a doctor. He said the minute you consider healthcare a right, well, who’s going to satisfy that right?”
Millionaires like Sen. Johnson define food, shelter, clothing and healthcare as privileges because if these things were rights, then our society would have to guarantee that all of us had access to them. And that would threaten the whole existing economic system, because that system can’t and won’t guarantee these necessities to anyone who cannot afford to pay for them. The economic system we have now is set up to guarantee profits for billionaires and corporations, not the necessities of life (or anything else) for the people, and this is immoral. We, the people, need a cooperative society where the people control the economy and we guarantee that everyone has what they need to both survive and thrive. In the meantime, we must build a movement that demands that the government classify food, clothing, shelter, healthcare and other necessities as rights, and guarantees that all of us have them.

PT Logo collage
+ Articles by this author

Free to republish but please credit the People's Tribune. Visit us at www.peoplestribune.org, email peoplestribune@gmail.com, or call 773-486-3551.

The People’s Tribune brings you articles written by individuals or organizations, along with our own reporting. Bylined articles reflect the views of the authors. Unsigned articles reflect the views of the editorial board. Please credit the source when sharing: ©2024 peoplestribune.org. Please donate to help us keep bringing you voices of the movement. Click here. We’re all volunteer, no paid staff.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Featured

Journalist Says Why ‘I Can No Longer Work With Reuters’

A photojournalist says why it is impossible for her to maintain a relationship with Reuters "given its role in justifying and enabling the systematic assassination of 245 journalists in Gaza."

Abrego Garcia Detained Again, Could be Deported to Uganda

Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran immigrant worker, was freed from detention in Tennessee Aug. 22 and then re-arrested by ICE on Aug. 25 in Maryland. The Trump administration is trying to deport Abrego Garcia to Uganda.

An Open Letter to Mayor Matt Mahan of San Jose, CA.

From the San Jose CA Frontlines: Stop the sweeps. Unhoused people want a safe place to stay. All people should be respected, shown compassion, understanding.

Global Food Authority Declares Catastrophic Famine in Gaza

On Aug. 22, the world's top authority on hunger crises officially declared that a catastrophe-level famine in Gaza exists—a humanitarian disaster engineered by Israel's relentless blockade of food aid and other life-saving supplies.

Thousands of Texans Protest Trump’s Redistricting Plan To Get More Votes

The Texas capitol of Austin saw 5,000 people protesting Trump’s unconstitutional redistricting plan and other issues threatening our democracy.

More from the People's Tribune