We Are The People
EDITORIAL
We are rich in experience, though poor in wealth. We are the poor, the elderly, the disabled, the single parents, and the veterans, people of color and of many religions, we are all persons who live in public and subsidized housing. There we have learned on a daily basis how to survive and overcome bullying, mobbing, and harassment. When a ruler seeks to trample our rights and deprive us of food, health, and free speech, we have the ability to protect ourselves; it is our right.
Mobbing is the use of bullying by a group to get rid of someone. The ability of a leader to label a target as a threat and mob them is a demonstration of their power over the target. Mobbing is a threat to everyone: “Watch out, we can do this to you.” In housing, the landlord is responsible for assuring peace and safety; enabling or participating in harassment is unlawful. Our government must uphold the Constitution and assure that everyone has “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
“We the people” means all the people, not just the wealthy. An elected leader is bound by law and the constitution, and when those limits are ignored, we have national bullying.
The administration is attempting to bully everyone so that no one dares to object. Their goal is to steal our social safety net that keeps us going so they can unfairly provide the benefits of government only to the wealthy.
When anyone seeks to trample our rights and deprive us of food, health, and free speech, we have the ability to protect ourselves; it is our right. We appeal to the wider community—we the people including those who are not poor and in need of support.
We may think ourselves safe when “others” like “immigrants” are attacked; or believers in a different religion are targeted. They sound like housing bullies when they say, “They don’t belong here.” But we know from our experience of bullying that it never stops with the first victim.
Now, under the guise of doing away with waste and fraud, essential government services are being gutted. Now we, the people, are the targets because our survival depends on a functioning government; this is bullying writ large. We all belong here!
Do we want government for the wealthy, or government for everyone? We want to assure the well being of all the people, including by programs that protect the public health, assure a safe food supply, reduce pollution so that we breathe clean air and drink safe water, support health care, education, child care, and essential food even for the least among us.
Food is under threat
“In the US, more than one in eight households say they have difficulty getting enough food. SNAP, formerly known as food stamps, helps more than 42 million people fill those gaps, and is considered the country’s most effective tool to fight hunger. But now, the USDA-run program is facing attacks from House Republicans who see deep cuts as a way to pay for an extension of the 2017 tax bill that benefits the very wealthy. “—The Guardian
Today, the current administration is on a rampage to eliminate the rights and benefits that we depend on for survival. Essential workers and services are being eliminated in a cruel firestorm that will cripple government programs that we need to survive.
Housing is under threat
While we rightly criticize housing programs, there will be even worse to come if HUD funding and staffing is cut. Housing programs are already threatened.
“It’s clear actions taken or planned by the Trump administration could hurt Cambridge residents of low-income housing and the agencies that serve them, people involved with affordable housing say. The Cambridge Housing Authority and public interest lawyers representing tenants are deeply worried.”
“Besides the concrete risks to low-income residents, ‘it’s worth noting the strong likelihood of increased stress and anxiety among especially vulnerable and historically disadvantaged Cambridge residents of public and subsidized housing as they navigate the threats to federal programs upon which they rely for survival (nutrition assistance, public benefits, etc.)’...[said lawyers at Cambridge and Somerville Legal Services.]”—Sue Reinert, Cambridge Day, February 19, 2025
Essential systems and services are under threat
Our weather reports are based on government research and programs. Our warnings of storms depend on NOAA satellites and teams of government experts. Our ability to recover from disaster depends on a strong FEMA. Our reputation in the developing world depends on the programs of USAID. The public health depends on programs of prevention, including by vaccinations for COVID, measles, polio, the flu and emerging threats like the bird flu. These diseases will devastate the country unless we are prepared with programs to protect the public health.
Medicaid is under threat
“Megan Cole Brahim, a professor at Boston University School of Public Health and an expert on Medicaid, said the cut was the largest ever proposed, and if enacted would ‘have far-reaching impacts not just for those who rely on Medicaid, but for entire communities and economies’.
‘These changes mean millions of Americans – including the low-income, elderly, persons with disabilities, children – will lose health insurance coverage,’ she said. ‘Others may see significant reductions in benefits or limited access to care. The impact on hospitals and health systems will be significant, particularly for safety-net and rural hospitals, which are already on the brink of closure. Patient revenues will fall, uncompensated care will rise. There will be staff layoffs and site closures.’”—The Guardian
If this cruel program of using cuts in essential services to fund the additional wealth of the rich is allowed to continue, every one will be harmed. The elderly will die of disease that we know how to prevent. The children will be permanently harmed by pollution.
Cuts to Medicaid will impact MassHealth with a major impact on the state budget. The impacts will surely threaten the health of all poor people as state officials make
“...decisions [that] could include adjusting eligibility levels to reduce the number of people who qualify for Medicaid coverage, reducing benefits or services for existing members, or potentially reducing provider rates paid to hospitals and nursing homes.—Christian Wade, Medicaid cuts could leave millions uninsured, The Salem News, 20250303
When we, the people, wrote the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, women could not vote, slaves had no rights, and people died of diseases that today are preventable.
The purpose of our Constitution today includes the general welfare, not just the welfare of the rich and powerful.
The main lesson we learn in housing is how to deal with bullying. Let us therefore lead the nation to a better day.
Now let us join together with our neighbors in housing and our neighbors in our town. Let our voices be heard and our ideas be seen. Together we shall create a better future.
—Jerry Halberstadt
Action is the antidote to despair.
Resources
Namkung, Victoria, ‘It’s been a lifesaver’: millions risk going hungry as Republicans propose slashing food stamps—The Guardian 20250207
Reinert, Sue, Housing Authority work and residents are at risk from Trump administration policies, leaders say, Cambridge Day, February 19, 2025
Stein, Chris, Medicaid recipients fear ‘buzzsaw cuts’ for Trump’s agenda: ‘We’re not going to be alive forever’, The Guardian 20250301
Wade, Christian M., Medicaid cuts could leave millions uninsured, The Salem News, 20250303