Hits and Misses
HIT: With the obvious exceptions of those who have landed on death row or been handed a life sentence without the possibility of parole, being sent to a state prison is supposed to be about rehabilitation as well as punishment. In Pennsylvania, that rehabilitation will now include helping inmates kick the tobacco habit. As of July 1, neither inmates nor employees of state prisons will be allowed to use tobacco products inside the secure perimeter of the prisons. Both inmates and employees will be permitted to use disposable, non-refillable e-cigarettes in designated areas, and inmates will be provided with smoking cessation programs and support services to help them shake loose from tobacco addiction. If inmates are able to leave state prisons with skills they can use and free of the need for a cigarette, their time behind bars will have been time well spent.
MISS: About 25,000 retired miners receive coverage from the federal Black Lung Disability Trust Fund for treatments they receive, which can sometimes cost up to $4,000 per month. But the fund is now in jeopardy. The reason? A tax on coal operators was slashed at the beginning of the year, and now there’s the possibility that those who rely on the fund could see their benefits sharply reduced. When asked about the reduction in the tax, the Trump White House said the administration supports the coal industry “by prioritizing deregulation and less Washington interference.” Also, U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, who leads the Republican majority in the Senate and hails from the coal state of Kentucky, vowed last year that the tax rate would “be taken care of before we get into an expiration situation.” No action was taken, however. If Trump and McConnell want to demonstrate their support for the coal industry, they should make sure the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund is fully funded and those who labored in the mines get the help they need.
MISS: It’s not like we need more evidence of the dangers of not being immunized against preventable diseases, but the hits just keep on coming. The latest story is out of Philadelphia, where nearly 70 people at Temple University have contracted mumps. The number of cases rose by more than a dozen in a single day. As we’ve said many times before, please have your children immunized against diseases that should have been wiped out long ago, were it not for foolish and misinformed people spreading anti-vaccine falsehoods. Are your kids going to die if they get measles or mumps? Probably not. But they might. Is that a risk worth taking? Definitely not.