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For anyone who hasn't been following this Republican- created disaster in Flint, Michigan, Charles P. Pierce has a little background:
The crisis has its roots in something fundamental to modern conservative government—the deregulated state. In 2011, under a controversial state law that he signed shortly after taking office, Governor Rick Snyder removed [Dayne] Walling, [Stephen] Benjamin's friend, and replaced him with an emergency manager. It was under this regime that the decision was made to change Flint's water supply from the Detroit water district to the Flint River, which required the water to go through the antiquated lead-lined pipes that have now poisoned a generation of the city's children. Everything else—including the alleged cover-up and the calls for Snyder's resignation that have come from everyone from Michael Moore to Bernie Sanders—has, well, flowed from that. [snip]
"We have a governor who is a business exec, so he said he was going to run government like a business," said Congresswoman Brenda Lawrence, who represents Detroit. "This is a glaring example of decisions made on dollars and cents and on a budget and had a devastating effect on the people, especially the children, because the lead has a negative impact on the development of your brain. It's developmental. It's educational. Those children are going to need help for the next 15 years ... You cannot run a government without looking after the well-being of the people. On paper, he made a great decision, but look at the lives he impacted."Yesterday, Kansas. Today, Michigan. Tomorrow, Kentucky. And those are just three of the Republican- run states that are serving as "labs" for reactionary conservative "policies." Enjoy the Freedumb!
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