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Immortal Technique Says Government Shutdown Doesn't Affect Members Of Congress
By: hiphopdx.comPosted On: 10/02/2013 3:32 P
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Immortal Technique says Congress is more concerned with corporate funding than protecting the people of the United States.
Just days after voicing his thoughts on Syria, Harlem emcee Immortal Technique has again offered his social and political commentary on one of the day’s most pertinent issues. This time the rapper addressed the government shutdown, which began on October 1.
Tech addressed the government shutdown by first addressing ObamaCare, also known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and expressed his belief that those residing in the United States should have had more of a say when it concerned healthcare reform.
“When I think about what the issue is with ObamaCare, I’ve always been upset at the fact that we never got a public option,” said Immortal Technique. “That we never got the ability to say, ‘You know what? We need to have free healthcare in this country for everybody. If we’re the best country in the world then shouldn’t everybody be able to get the exact same or better treatment?' I remember I sprained my ankle in Denmark of all places. And I walked into the hospital there. And they didn’t ask me for 12 million pieces of ID. They saw my ankle, they x-rayed it. Then I saw a second doctor…This is the Communist medicine we’re talking about? No, insurance companies are bribing people in Congress to sit here and talk about what a bad idea it would be for everyone to have the same sort of medical coverage that they have.”
In effect since early Tuesday (October 1) morning, the government shutdown began when the House and Senate, the two houses that make up the United States Congress, could not agree on a bill that would fund the government. As a result of the shutdown, approximately 800,000 government employees who work for one of numerous federal agencies or departments will be furloughed. Despite the financial impact on federal agencies and departments, those in Congress as well as the president will still be paid during the shutdown.
During his interview with The NE Hip Hop, Immortal Technique spoke on those in Congress not feeling the financial impact of the shutdown since they’ll still receive income throughout the ordeal. He also commented on members of Congress protecting the interests of those he says provide them with corporate funding.
“If the shutdown included them not losing or them losing their salary I bet that they’d have to answer to somebody at home, like their wife….But that’s what I’m talking about, it doesn’t seem like they’re personally at stake,” said The 3rd World rapper. “That’s why they seem to be dragging their feet about it. I really, really hope to God that at some point these people can come to terms with the reality that they’re playing with other mothafucker’s lives. Not everybody has millions of dollars to fall back on like they do. Because the sad truth is even if we took away their salary that’s not where they get their real meat and potatoes. That’s just the gravy on top of it. It’s all the corporate funding that gives them money that makes them rich, which is unfortunate because that means that their interests are to protect that entity and not to protect the people.”
Most recently, Immortal Technique spoke in-depth on the conflict in Syria and gave some background on the crisis as he shared the details of the Sykes-Picot Agreement, an agreement made between France and the United Kingdom in 1916, which divided parts of the former Ottoman Empire.
“And if you want to understand that conflict then you have to go back to World War I…I mean, pretty much the powers of Europe and Russia decided that the Ottoman Empire was the quote-on-quote 'Sick Man Of Europe,’” said the rapper. “And they signed a treaty called Sykes-Picot. And with Sykes-Picot, it states that Europe being under of course France and England’s leadership, along with Russia’s help, would come in and would annex parts of the Ottoman Empire.”
On top of wrapping up his next studio album, The Middle Passage, Immortal Technique is also on tour with Brother Ali. The duo will wrap up their tour this month with stops in New Haven, CT, Northampton, MA, and Burlington, VT.
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