u/skoomaking4lyfe

I ran across yet another article about rural hospital closures today:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/oct/11/medicaid-cuts-maternity-wards?CMP=Share\_iOSApp\_Other

and it had me wondering: For those conservative voters who aren't in the top 10% or so income brackets - do you understand that your politicians are talking about you when they say "waste, fraud, and abuse", and not just whatever group you believe doesn't deserve benefits

How many of you are dependent on government funding in secondary ways like "The only hospital within fifty miles of me relies on Medicare to operate"?

Are you celebrating these cuts now that they affect rural conservatives?

Question for the right:

​

Screwworms are an invasive parasite from South America that is particularly devastating to livestock:

​

https://arstechnica.com/health/2025/05/screwworms-are-coming-and-theyre-just-as-horrifying-as-they-sound/

​

One of the USAID programs that was cut by elon was the program that was keeping screwworms controlled in South America:

​

https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/flesh-eating-parasite-returns-us-60-years-budget-cuts-1801525

​

​

At the time, conservatives cheered the end of USAID. In light of screwworms returning to the US as a consequence of those cuts, do you still feel that way?

​

Bonus question: How confident are you that the trump regime will be able to contain the screwworm invasion?

This question is for those on the right who supported the WHO/USAID cuts. This is the outbreak being referenced:

https://arstechnica.com/health/2026/05/ebola-outbreak-who-declares-emergency-us-restricts-travel-american-infected/

USAID's role in global health:

https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-21-359

https://oig.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/2018-06/9-000-18-001-p\_0.pdf

WHO's role:

https://www.kff.org/global-health-policy/the-u-s-government-and-the-world-health-organization/

The idea behind using foreign aid to fight disease breakouts in other countries is that it's easier to handle them at the source with multinational cooperation instead of waiting until the outbreak spreads.

Given all of this, do you still support the USAID/WHO cuts? Why or why not? If so, how do you think the US should react to outbreaks in other countries? Do you think we're more vulnerable to pandemics under our current policies?