The decision to buck federal government guidelines was one of many that led to serious repercussions for Texas residents who rely on Medicaid. Among them were children forced to forgo or postpone lifesaving operations, doctors say.
This story and its ilk is awful, but saying "the cruelty is the point" is reductive and unhelpful. If you really think the majority of Texas favors cruelty for its own sake, then you should turn off your gadgets and disappear. Go away and fuck off.
Not the majority, but definitely the controlling faction of its state government.
I mean, to get hyper technical, they have associated this general type of cruelty with moral righteousness and fiscal responsibility.
So they are doing things that are cruel. Those of us not caught up in their cult can see that they're doing it because of greed, tribalism, and religious indoctrination. The cruelty is the point, but they're not doing it just because they like being cruel. They're doing it because being cruel is virtuous, makes them feel superior, and makes them money (note, not all of these apply to everyone; these are 3 different motivations for 3 different groups). This type of cruelty, for one or more of those reasons, is seen as a GOOD thing.
So yes. The cruelty is the point. It's not incidental, it's not an unfortunate byproduct of some other goal. It is cruel and they are intentionally trying to be cruel.