A brief glimpse of Joe Biden’s America
As a type II diabetic, I must take 1500mg of Metformin every day. I also visit a nurse practitioner once a year for a medical checkup and blood work that’s reviewed by a doctor. My doctor is available for questions and concerns by phone. I also have an annual “diabetic eye screen review” to ensure that my retinas remain healthy.
How much does all this cost? Nothing. Not one single penny have I ever had to pay for any of the above. The medication is free, the nurse is free, the doctor is free, the eyescreen is free. Whenever I go to the doctor I leave my credit cards at home. I have gotten out of the habit of thinking about paying, or processing medical insurance at the front desk. I go to the doctor, announce I’m there, wait in the waiting room to be called. I am called shortly, go in and see the medical professional, get my checkup and leave. That’s it. No money involved. No tedious insurance forms to fill out.
It has been this way for me for more than 20 years. I try to remember to count my proverbial blessings. But I sometimes forget. Like others living in England I sometimes even gripe about the process. Joe Biden wants the US to be like England in this way.
We are fortunate here. We will never be unable to pay our mortgages or lose our homes due to medical debt. We will never be evicted because of medical debt. Medical debt really isn’t a thing in England — or anywhere in the United Kingdom. It is a thing in the United States. A huge thing.
What’s more, until recently medical debt went on your credit score. Medical debt wasn’t only an economic burden if you lived in the US, it could also ruin your credit.
And thanks to Joe Biden that is no longer true. One of the many things he’s done is remove the stigma of medical debt from the credit scores of millions of Americans. He is also working to wipe out medical debt entirely, so it can be repaid for pennies on the dollar. He is also trying to get free, or at least affordable, healthcare for all Americans.
Donald Trump never met a multibillion dollar corporation he didn’t love. Can you imagine Trump working to wipe out medical debt for any Americans? Or doing more than promise delivering affordable healthcare for all Americans? Of course he wouldn’t. He doesn’t give a shit about anybody but himself. He would rather play golf.
When the former fire chief was struck and killed by the assassin aiming at Trump on Saturday, President Biden tried to call the man’s widow and offer condolences. She refused to take his call, saying that her husband wouldn’t have wanted her to. Meanwhile Trump didn’t even try to call her. Until somebody finally shames him into it, Trump never will call her. Trump doesn’t give a shit about anyone. He played golf instead.
I am tired of reading about Democrats calling for Biden to step down. I think he’s doing a brilliant job. He’s compassionate, kind, wise, and always working for the good of all Americans. I think he should stay another four years. I feel a lot safer knowing that Joe Biden, with or without Covid-19, is in charge of the most powerful and dangerous country on earth. I can’t think of anyone else alive that I’d rather have there right now.
Joe Biden is the best President in my lifetime. He’s the best President in your lifetime. So it’s time for the smug talking heads, the yammering Democrats, the doomsayers hoping they will be right so they can brag about how smart and clairvoyant they are later on, the trembling celebrities “regretfully” intoning their doom, the opinionated idiot next door who can’t wait to lay bad news on you, the fools who are hoping to appear less than foolish, to shut the fuck up. And, as ever, ladies and gentlemen, brothers and sisters, comrades and friends, stay safe.
Robert Harrington is an American expat living in Britain. He is a portrait painter.