In a nearly 10:55 segment about proposals in California and New York City to expand health care for the poor, Tucker Carlson obsessively focused on the supposed horror of “illegal immigrants” getting health care and showed no appreciation for the fact that many poor Americans would gain access to health care, too.
Both the New York City and the California plans expand health care access to the poor, regardless of immigration status. But Carlson cherry picked the availability of health to immigrants as if that was such an evil it overshadowed any possible good that might result. He described the measures as “further tax[ing] the middle class to provide benefits to illegal aliens from other countries.” Guest Dave Rubin fixated on the measures as (white, wealthy) people being forced to pay something for the undeserving people of color.
RUBIN: But the idea that if you come here illegally, you should be getting more from the state so the state should take from some who produce and give to others, who are here illegally in the first place to thus well, force it—it, yes, to force them to stay further illegally.
[…]
It sounds nice, we’re going to give everyone health insurance, we’re going to have sanctuary cities. It sounds really nice.
But these—these are not things that are good for a society that truly wants to be free that—that wants you to keep what you earn, what want—what allows you to live as you see fit. That’s not—this is a recipe for a disaster if we’re incentivizing people to do illegal things.
I mean this is—this is pretty basic stuff. And yet, it’s become somehow controversial to say any of this.
Next, Democrat Bernard Whitman nicely defended healthcare expansion as both morally and economically beneficial but he never confronted Carlson for all but saying it would be better if immigrants and the poor just died.
CARLSON: Can I just come from any country in the world, land at JFK, and claim residency and get free stuff? … Is there a threshold for how much you’ve contributed to the system or is it just literally everyone?
WHITMAN: Look I think the de—let me break it down for you. I think actually this is a very effective, efficient conservative approach to delivering healthcare. The truth is undocumented immigrants and those who can’t afford healthcare already get free healthcare now.
They go to the city’s emergency room departments. It’s a very inefficient way to deliver healthcare. They go for colds. They go for flus. They go for any number of things. They—they can’t really get mental health treatment. They can’t get basic services, so they go to the emergency room.
Delivering healthcare, basic healthcare, preventive healthcare through the emergency room is a terribly inefficient way to do it. It’s a drain on taxpayer money. This is looking at a way to manage healthcare better and to be able to sort of give—
[…]
CARLSON: --I’m very familiar with the talking point. But can I just ask you a simple question—
WHITMAN: Well it’s not a talking point. It’s truth. It’s basic economics.
CARLSON: --no, well, of course it’s—of course, it’s a talking point. So, Liberals push for—
WHITMAN: It’s basic economics.
CARLSON: --universal access to emergency room care. And when that turns out to be a disaster, they’re like, look, we have to give it to everybody because our first proposal didn’t work. And you know that is true.
But let me just ask you, is there a limit? So, why wouldn’t this be an inducement for the world to land at JFK, claim asylum and, all of a sudden, get the fruits of the most prosperous society in the history of the world? I mean I’m—
[…]
WHITMAN: But, look, at the end of the day, if you don’t really want undocumented immigrants walking around your city, I understand some people don’t like that, would you rather they be walking around your city healthy or sick? Would you rather they be walking around with mental health issues that—that could exploit into violence-- … or would you like them to get treated? … Which makes more sense?
Carlson dodged the question by saying that the middle class is “fleeing” New York City. Then he made it clear he’d rather poor people got sick and died:
CARLSON: So, let me ask you, what about [the middle class], like they’re paying for a lot of this stuff? You crowd up their hospitals. You make it harder for them to get services like does anyone care about them, honestly?
Watch Carlson turn his back on poor Americans because he’s too worried an undocumented immigrant might get health care below, from the January 8, 2019 Tucker Carlson Tonight.
(Transcript excerpts via Fox News.)
I do believe they would rather die from the overwhelming effects of illness and poverty in their community than risk any of THEIR tax dollars going to ppl they think don’t deserve assistance.
As Pope Francis recently opined: it’s better to be an athiest who shows respect, love and tolerance for others than to be a (so-called) Christian who ignores the true meaning of the word of Christ.
The Evangelical position is very convenient to these hateful people who claim that “belief” will be sufficient to get one through the pearly gates. Actually walking the talk is an optional. Bloody hypocrites.