Tuesday, January 29, 2008

I'm shocked that this article would miss the obvious explanation as to why Florida has so many seniors: the aging Cuban exile community. Naturally, it omits the most obvious explanation for why the U.S. was so generous towards my Cuban grandparents even though the Republican party they so heartily embrace would throw them over the side of a border wall if their feet weren't touching American soil: you get their votes by guaranteeing social services since they're not long for this world anyway. A deeply cynical move first adopted by LBJ's Democratic party and continued today, as shown by the pandering to Cuban talk radio demagoguery by every president of the post-Bay of Pigs era.

3 comments:

J T. Ramsay said...

How is guaranteeing health care cynical? Sure, it should be extended to everyone, but c'mon, it's about fixed incomes and as a social good gets votes. I wish more politicians were willing to give tangible social goods for votes!

Alfred Soto said...

LBJ gave the old Cubans social services and naturalized them – something no president has ever done and, heh, given today's climate, will never happen again. He got their votes, they eventually die, and nothing "done" about Cuba.

J T. Ramsay said...

I'm not so sure that US intervention is good for anything, so maybe Cuba's best left to Cubans?