{"id":32541,"date":"2024-03-29T12:29:19","date_gmt":"2024-03-29T19:29:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=32541"},"modified":"2024-03-29T20:13:54","modified_gmt":"2024-03-30T03:13:54","slug":"former-us-lawmaker-finally-enjoys-social-policies-he-fought-for-in-europe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2024\/03\/29\/former-us-lawmaker-finally-enjoys-social-policies-he-fought-for-in-europe\/","title":{"rendered":"Former US Lawmaker Finally Enjoys Social Policies He Fought for\u2014In France"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Then-Congressman<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Then-Congressman Jim McDermott (D-Wash.) prepared to board a bus outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. on January 28, 2015.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 (Photo: Tom Williams\/CQ Roll Call)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I saw and felt what it’s like to live in a community where everyone can go to the doctor. Where children aren’t massacred by gun violence. It changes everything.”<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

JESSICA CORBETT<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mar 28, 2024 (CommonDreams.org)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A former U.S. lawmaker who spent nearly half a century fighting for a nation that would have universal healthcare coverage and less gun violence is finally living in such a place\u2014but he had to retire and move to Europe to find it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In recent interviews with Roll Call<\/a><\/em> and The Washington Post<\/a><\/em>, former Democratic Congressman Jim McDermott, who also served in the Washington state Legislature, discussed life in France and the threat of former GOP President Donald Trump, who is set to face Democratic President Joe Biden in November.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It was like I walked through an invisible door,” McDermott told the Post<\/em>‘s Elizabeth Becker about going to France. “Now I saw and felt what it’s like to live in a community where everyone can go to the doctor. Where children aren’t massacred by gun violence. It changes everything.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

McDermott visited Civrac-en-M\u00e9doc in 2017, the same year he retired from Congress, and quickly bought a stone cottage. The 87-year-old keeps a residence in Seattle and remains an American\u2014he is a member of Democrats Abroad and plans to vote for Biden. However, he largely lives in the rural French village, where he “doesn’t need to lock his doors at night” and “loves that kids in the neighborhood don’t worry about gun violence,” as Roll Call<\/em>‘s Ariel Cohen reported Wednesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I spent 16 years in the Washington state Legislature trying to get single-payer healthcare. Then I spent nearly 30 years in Congress trying to get single-payer. Then I came to France and in three months I had single-payer. Was that mind-blowing? You bet.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

France\u2014which requires<\/a> a psychological test for a gun license\u2014has a population of about 68 million<\/a> and each year sees 3.23 firearm-related deaths per 100,000 people, according to<\/a> World Population Review. The United States, home to over 333 million, has 10.84 gun deaths per 100,000 people and mass shootings<\/a> are on the rise<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Former Dem Rep. Jim McDermott now receives free healthcare and doesn\u2019t lock his doors at night in France.

Rare to read about a retired lawmaker who gets to experience a basic standard of living he pressed for in the US.

Great profile from @ArielCohen37<\/a> https:\/\/t.co\/4KNX2daLEx<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/7UEbx2BfPS<\/a><\/p>— Joseph Zeballos-Roig (@josephzeballos) March 27, 2024<\/a><\/blockquote>