President Obama on Flint’s water poisoning
President Obama visited Detroit Michigan to highlight the once again booming auto industry. He spoke at a joint General Motors-United Auto Workers facility where he made the following statement about the water lead poisoning by the negligence of Governor Rick Snyder (R-MI).
I want to pickup briefly on something that Cindy said and that is just to talk for a second about what’s happening in Flint. I am very proud of what I’ve done as President. The only job that is more important to me is the job of father. And I know that if I was a parent up there, I would be beside myself that my kids health could be at risk. That’s why over the weekend I declared a federal emergency in Flint to send more resources on top of the assistance that we’ve already put on the ground. We’ve designated federal coordinator to make sure the people of Flint to get what they need from their country yesterday. Yesterday I met with Mayor Weaver in the White House in the oval office. And I told her that we are going to have her back and all the people of Flint’s back as they work their way through this terrible tragedy. It is a reminder of why you can’t shortchange basic services that we provide to our people and that we together provide as a government to make sure the public health and safety is preserved.
Every politician should take heed of the last sentence. The draconian cuts usually enacted by conservative politicians are generally not only dangerous but fatal. It would have takes $100 per day to ad an anticorrosive agent to the water. Instead the city likely has a billion dollar problem on its hands.
The same applies nationally to the draconian cuts that are made. Our neglect of our infrastructure will make its ultimate repair that much more expensive. Our neglect of effectively educating our children will land many doing crimes, underemployed, and sick. It will cost more to imprison and heal them. Our neglect of the middle-class that has caused some of the worst wealth and income inequality in the world will ultimately result in costly unrest. Pennywise and dollar foolish politicians are putting our very country at peril.
