In 2024 Rick Scott (R), Florida was worth US$327 million(wealthiest Senator) [View all]

He made his money on hospital mergers.

Ever watch all the people that work in a hospital? You have to observe the work while waiting to see someone. It is amazing and most of the time confirms the whole mixed bag of human behavior. It takes a lot of work. From cleaning up bodily fluids, to addressing life and death issues to running the cafeteria so a caffeine jolt can help employees and patient’s families get through the anxiety and exhaustion of working with the sick. I watch staff confront the range of human emotions pouring out from the public. Anger, fear, guilt, addiction etc.

I read that Scott, this incredibly wealthy man, dismiss and abuse those on Medicaid as lazy and in a homage to the Reagan slander of “welfare queens” says Medicaid patients “sit on their butts”.

Our lives depend on our common work. A humane safety net does provide assistance in the face of the randomness of life. In the end, maybe Scott dies in a hospital at a ripe old age. Regular people working around him and some staff member, with a parent on Medicaid, provides him with ice chips. To paraphrase JD Vance; “has he ever said Thank You”.