Tuesday May 5, 7:30 – 9:30PM EST (& each Tuesday until May 26)

via Zoom (RSVP here)

Health care systems that cover everyone have better health outcomes and cost less. They also give women more independence from men. So why can’t we win one in the U.S.?

The point of this study group is to look at the various obstacles to people in the U.S. supporting universal programs (whether Medicare for All or universal childcare). Sometimes it’s because they don’t believe it will really help them (since some things are labelled “universal” or “for all” and then end up excluding people by race, sex, income or immigration status). Some think universal programs will be worse than what they have (“public” things are inferior, cash-strapped, or not safe). Some think that relying on the government is a sign of weakness. And some say they don’t want “undeserving” people (usually this involves racism) to benefit from a program funded by (their) taxes.

We will also look at the history of when U.S. government programs (like Social Security or public schools or Medicare or the Postal Service) have expanded or even been truly universal, and whether they have had positive impacts on women and people of color and other oppressed groups, and how that came to be true.

We'll be answering these questions in a consciousness raising:

1. Name some universal or near-universal programs in the U.S. (for example, Social Security, Medicare, public schools, pre-K in NYC, FMLA, Postal Service, libraries, unemployment insurance, others?) Do they/did they benefit you? Any downsides? Do they affect you as a woman differently from men? As a woman of color (if applicable)?

2. Name some means-tested (that is, dependent on income) programs in the U.S. (Obamacare, Medicaid, food stamps, WIC, TANF, Head Start, mortgage interest deduction, EITC, others?) Do they/did they benefit you? Any downsides? Do they affect you as a woman differently from men? As a woman of color (if applicable)?

RSVP by emailing us at nwl@womensliberation.org and we'll send you a link to the meeting via Zoom and the readings.