There’s no mistake that the United States is suffering from a plethora of serious problems, most of them entirely self-inflicted. While we usually focus on the controversial, partisan issues, there are some apolitical ones that deserve our attention just as much as stuff like immigration and abortion.
Many that fall in this political grey area have to do with our health, both physical and mental. The most glaringly obvious health problem is definitely obesity, but a growing crisis is the shocking rise in opioid addiction and deaths caused by it.
As reported at the New York Post, to bring deserved awareness to the pressing issue, President Trump announced Thursday that he’d be donating his third quarter salary, $100,000, to causes devoted to ending the crisis.
“His decision to donate his salary is a tribute to his compassion, to his patriotism and his sense of duty to the American people,” acting Health and Human Services Eric Hargan said on Thursday during the White House news briefing.
“We are so pleased that President Trump has chosen to donate his salary this quarter to the planning and design of a large-scale public awareness campaign about the dangers of opioid addiction,” he said.
Trump has already shined a light on one of the nation’s fastest growing killers by declaring the opioid crisis a public health emergency in October. In 2016, over 59,000 died due to opioid abuse alone.
”Our goal is to create healthier lives, stronger communities and a safer country, and we’re glad to have a president who recognizes that the opioid crisis is a huge threat to all three of these goals,” said Hargan.
While campaigning for president, Trump promised to forgo his salary. Instead he’s been donating it various causes, with his first quarter salary going to the Department of the Interior and his second quarter paycheck to the Department of Education.
More than the money, it’s the awareness his actions generate. Even though leftists are calling it a publicity stunt, it’s still having the desired effect–folks are talking about problem–which is the first and necessary step in devising a solution.
Source: New York Post