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January 30, 2008
The Death of California's Healthcare Initiative
It's not really dead…merely napping.
by Tina Grazier
Arnold’s plan for a universal healthcare in California went down in flames this week. It shouldn’t surprise anyone…California’s wallet is filled to the brim…with IOU’s.
In a couple of excellent articles the Wall Street Journal provides lessons to be learned from this “Terminated” proposal in the “State of the Living Dead”:
It's especially useful to compare today's muted obituaries to the page-one melodrama that surrounded the Governor when he announced his plan a year ago. Endless media mash notes were bestowed on the "post-partisan" Republican trying to get something done. *** The idea was that Mr. Schwarzenegger would set a national precedent, leading to a groundswell for reform in Washington. Not to mention that the Schwarzenegger plan was a near-copy of the one Mitt Romney pioneered in Massachusetts, and the one (plan) Hillary Clinton now favors. A leading author of the California plan was Laurie Rubiner, who directed health policy at the New America Foundation before becoming Senator Clinton's legislative director in 2005.
I suppose using “post –partisan” to describe Arnold means republican knuckling under to progressive pressures. Whatever! The good news is the termination of this plan is a sign that fiscal discipline is an idea whose time has finally come…but, has anybody noticed? Hillary Clinton continues to talk about government solutions to “real” problems that “real” people face every day. Well Hill, how’s this for “real”:
Like collapses in Illinois, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, this one crumpled because of the costs, which are always much higher than anticipated. The truth teller was state Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, who thought to ask about the price tag of a major new entitlement amid what's already a $14.5 billion budget shortfall. *** Even under the most favorable assumptions, spending would outpace revenue by $354 million after two years, and likely $3.9 billion or more.
Our progressive friends hate talking about money unless the subject is higher taxes for the “rich” or cutting military spending. Progressive leadership would prefer to “skip” that whole money thing when discussing their “grande plans". To hear them talk, money flows like the waters at Niagra Falls…nobody has to do anything…it just shows up! Evidence of this comes from the democrat reasoning for dumping the plan:
Such a law would compel everyone to acquire insurance, with subsidies for those who couldn't afford it. *** Many Democrats and some unions argued the subsidies weren't generous enough to cover lower-income families… *** …it didn't cap how much they (insursers) could charge consumers, or regulate their profits. Democrats also complained that the taxes the plan imposed on business, as high as 6.5% of payroll, weren't high enough.
The bottom line is that money concerns defeated this plan. What do politicians do when they want to expand government and need more money? Democrat reasoning might go something like this:
OK, we put this plan on the shelf for now…we’ll make the changes we want in it later. In the mean time, we desperately need more money …hmmmm…raising taxes isn’t popular right now… we’ll have to add to our coffers by other means…and when the money starts rolling in we’ll be in a better position to fund an improved universal healthcare plan. The January 12th WSJ article offers this hint into the mind of government thievery:
…negotiators rushed to patch together a policy framework before 2007 ended, but they didn't have the votes to actually pay for it. A two-thirds majority in the state legislature is required for tax increases, and Mr. Schwarzenegger alienated the Republicans he needed. So if this scheme is to become reality, new taxes on tobacco, hospitals and business must be ratified by voters in a November ballot initiative.
Yeah, that's pretty good but how about this for progressive thinking: We’ll stick it to Indian Tribe’s! This way we can avoid a tax increase on “real” Californians!
If progressives manage to convincing the people that government can "afford" everything for everyone all the time (the Hillary/Obama mantra) healthcare, and the nation itself, will be terminated. On the other hand, if the American people could learn and understand just one thing it would make all a difference. here it is:
Government doesn’t create wealth and prosperity. It can, however, depress both through excessive taxation and regulation. This, good buddies, will lead to job losses and eventually a very depressed economy. Nobody benefits from such a plan and the poor will become even more desperate, suffering even greater poverty. Unless we learn this lesson progressive government expansion will put Americans at the bottom of the heap. It is the people, going about their everyday lives...working, spending, saving and investing...that creates wealth and prosperity. Free them...turn them loose and affordable healthcare will follow
Please vote wisely in November.
Posted by Post Scripts at January 30, 2008 07:41 PM