If I Only Had a Brain: AOC Forgets About Black People

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When it comes to political comedy, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) is the gift that keeps on giving. Each week, Liberty Nation uncovers the blunders that keep us wondering: How did she ever get elected?

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) has been on a tear this week, weighing in on the Coronavirus outbreak and the efforts being made to address the pandemic.

AOC: Welfare Relief For Illegal Immigrants

Ocasio-Cortez, as well as many of her colleagues, have advocated for welfare relief for illegal immigrants. California Governor Gavin Newsom is hammering out a stimulus package for immigrants residing in the United States illegally amid the COVID-19 outbreak.

The recent federal stimulus package will send $1,200 to American adults who file their taxes using a social security number. The measure does not cover immigrants who file using an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN). Since illegals don’t generally have social security numbers, they’re out of luck here.

Earlier this week, Ocasio-Cortez posted a tweet asserting that those living in the country illegally should receive relief from the federal government. “If you don’t believe undocumented workers should have access to relief during #COVID19, does that mean you’re willing [to] return the billions they pay in taxes each year? Will you defund your schools?” She wrote. “Or, in this moment, will we recognise that we should just take care of each other?”

California Reps. Judy Chu and Lou Correa, along with Maryland’s Jamie Raskin – Democrats, the lot of them – proposed the Leave No Taxpayer Behind Act as an amendment to the stimulus bill. This measure would provide cash payments for those filing with an ITIN. However, there is a group of people in America that have been disproportionately impacted by the virus that the Democrats seem to be neglecting.

What About Black Americans?

As the Coronavirus death toll has increased, several high-profile individuals on the left have drawn attention to an apparent racial disparity in the numbers of those who succumb to the illness. Black Americans make up a disproportionate percentage of those who perish because of the virus.

In an appearance on NPR, Dr. Deborah Birx, a key member of the White House’s coronavirus task force, indicated that the black community suffers from underlying health conditions more frequently than other groups. She said:

“We don’t want to give the impression that the African American community is more susceptible to the virus. We don’t have any data that suggests that. What our data suggest is they are more susceptible to more difficult and severe disease and poorer outcomes.”

Dr. Anthony Fauci, who heads the National Institute for Allergies and Infectious diseases, echoed Birx’s sentiments. “When [African Americans] do get infected, their underlying medical conditions — the diabetes, the hypertension, the asthma — those are the kind of things that wind them up in the ICU and ultimately give them a higher death rate,” he explained.

In Louisiana and Chicago, blacks make up 70% of reported COVID-19 deaths. Similar differences have also been seen in New York City and Milwaukee. While the overall data has not yet been computed, it is clear that black Americans are more likely to die from the disease than others. President Donald Trump recently announced that his team would be looking into the causes of the disparity.

However, it has long been known that blacks suffer chronic health problems at a far higher rate than whites and other races. When Trump’s team investigates the matter, they will likely find that factors such as low homeownership, lack of adequate health insurance, and poverty have all contributed to the health problems that the black community experiences.

Government policies — which were primarily implemented by Democratic leaders — have created the conditions that would lead to an inability to fend off various ailments. Practices like redlining, which originated under Franklin Roosevelt, ensured that blacks were forced to live in squalor. Encouraging dependence on government health programs, which have been shown to lack efficacy, has also contributed to the problem.

These and other policies have had a deleterious effect on the ability of black Americans to create generational wealth. The black community is still suffering from these actions. So here’s the question: If government policies have made black Americans more vulnerable to COVID-19, why wouldn’t AOC and her comrades focus on more resources for these citizens? After all, pushing for open borders policies has also taken a significant number of employment opportunities from African Americans.

Arguing for relief to be given to those who broke the nation’s laws to enter the country while all but ignoring those who are more susceptible to the virus due to government policies does not seem appropriate. Unfortunately, it seems to be par for the course for Ocasio-Cortez and her ilk.

Read more from Jeff Charles.

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About the author

Jeff Charles

Socio-political Correspondent at LibertyNation.com. A self-confessed news and political junkie, Jeff’s writing has been featured in Small Business Trends, Business2Community, and The Huffington Post. Born in Southern California and having experienced the 1992 L.A. Riots up close and personal, Jeff’s insights are informed by his experiences as a black man and a conservative.Race Relations & Media Affairs Correspondent