As a practicing classroom math teacher, I tell my students that it is crucial that every day they walk into my class that they feel safe, valued, respected and welcomed. Recent events call into question how much our Alaska Legislature values, respects, and welcomes all Alaskans.
Legislators should be wary of some of their most vocal supporters. The logic to invest $450,000 to remove jobs from our economy and strip away health care from our neighbors is partly fueled by some that have a very narrow definition of whom we consider our neighbors. At a July 31 Alaska Sustainable Future forum in Wasilla, an audience member blasted Gov.Bill Walker for expanding Medicaid. Walker correctly pointed out that bringing the opportunity of health care to tens of thousands of Alaskans creates jobs and with federal funding will help lower the Alaska state deficit this year. The audience member muttered, "no way" and was one of the first to jump up and give Walker an earful at the end of the forum.
I spoke with the man during the break. He openly shared that he had a Confederate battle flag flying in his yard and repeatedly insisted that Black Lives Matter should be investigated by the FBI as a hate group. I smiled and said, "Well, black lives do matter." He responded that if the Klu Klux Klan is investigated then Black Lives Matter deserves the same.
A 2012 Sommers peer-reviewed study in the New England Journal of Medicine found comparing the five years before and after Medicaid expansion for three states resulted in a statistically significant decrease in the death rate with the largest impacts on the elderly, the poor and non-whites. This information doesn't mean much for those that do not consider non-whites our neighbors.
The Legislative Joint Council met again on Sept. 28 and hardened its heart to continue on with their plans to spend $450,000 to remove health care for vulnerable Alaskans. The Alaska Legislature's leaders wrote an Aug. 18 op-ed portraying their lawsuit as courageous and presented themselves as a "rare specimen" that hasn't been seen in generations. Rhetoric that is unhinged from reality and praises fiscal irresponsibility does nothing to pull Alaskans together as we face serious challenges.
How often the Legislature contemplates the meaning of the Good Samaritan parable is unknown; however, there should be some familiarity since they have passed legislation that protects those that come to the assistance of our neighbors from adverse legal actions. Alaska Statute 09.65.090, the Good Samaritan law, should shield Walker from the Legislature's expensive and wasteful litigation.
The parable of the Good Samaritan challenges us to think expansively about whom we consider our neighbors and how we treat them. The Samaritan stopped for the dying man, invested two days salary in silver coins to provide for his health care, and saved his life. The 2012 Sommers study found that for every 176 people that were signed up for Medicaid, one additional life was saved per year. If these numbers hold for Alaska, Walker is the Good Samaritan, literally saving more than a hundred lives per year and improving the quality of life of tens of thousands of Alaskans.
Alaska faces serious challenges. We need serious solutions that work to benefit Alaskans of all colors and all incomes. We need our Alaska Legislature working as a team with our governor to ensure that all Alaskans are valued, respected, welcomed and safe.
Bob Williams is a Mat-Su School District math teacher and a former Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor.
The views expressed here are the writer's own and are not necessarily endorsed by Alaska Dispatch News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, email commentary(at)alaskadispatch.com