This week an estimated 15 million poor Americans will lose their Medicaid benefits, despite promises at the beginning of the pandemic that those with coverage would not lose it. This is another example of the systematic deconstruction of the safety nets governments implemented for their people at the start of the pandemic - food benefits, anti-poverty funding for families and kids, increases to welfare payments so that they may actually support some quality of life. What would it take for governments to realise these safety nets are required all the time? I believe governments around the world should step back and look at the measures that they put in place during covid to support people who might have found themselves worse off than usual after losing employment etc. And realise that no one person is more deserving of basic supplies and security than the next. Maybe some countries would consider putting their safety nets back up. Particularly America, who live shorter lives than English at every point on the income distribution, especially at the bottom end, where the gap is more than five years. No doubt due to the stronger safety nets including universal healthcare systems.