In my short time living in NYC, the most significant change I have experienced is the implementation of the COVID test kit.
The rapid COVID test kit should be provided by the government for free to allow individuals to conveniently test themselves at home. Unfortunately, some pharmacies see this as an opportunity to make profit. For instance, in Flushing NY, the rapid COVID test kit originally costs $ 20. However, since there is a shortage of test kits, pharmacies have been increasing the price of the test kits. If the test kit cost that much, people can just go to a PCR testing center for a more accurate test result. Thankfully, on January 19, the government provided everyone a chance to receive 4 test kits per household sign up. This is similar to the Dickson’s text. She was talking about that at first place, government did not want to even fix the train problems even though graffiti caught their attention to it. So, the group of small business has the control of fixing the problems for the trains. Later, they think they should take the right back, so they declare a war on graffiti. As mentioned previously , the government did not want to spend money on the test kit, but later, they realize the small business has the control of the test kit, then they start sending those free test kits.
Medicaid is one of the changing of public benefits I’ve seen so far. One of my friends who was struggling with her disease because of the Medicaid that didn’t cover the medicine that she used to take. The medicine cost too much now that it is uninsured. It took her a year to find one that can treat her diseases and also is covered by the Medicaid. If she cannot find the medicine that is right for her and cover by the Medicaid, the consequences can be fatal.
I agree, because the neoliberal era of capitalism was a response to the recession. The new era spawned the development of many new types of businesses, and the deregulation of governments allowed people to have more access to the wave of capital, so anything may develop into a profitable business opportunity.
I also mentioned the same topics, which shows how much neoliberalism has increased during this pandemic. I also agree that these tests should be covered by the government, but everyone looks to make a profit off of something. I like how you pointed out how the government wanted to have that power of controlling the test kits, so they took it back from the smaller companies by giving out free kits.
Hi, Charlotte
I agree with you. Some business people are using masks and rapid COVID test kits to make a profit during the pandemic, so many people who need these items are anxious about that. I think that the government should take action to distribute free medical supplies to help people in need.