California’s Misplaced Priorities: Going for “Broke” with Universal Health Care
By Nathan Mintz | January 21, 2010
When you have dug yourself into a hole and you want to get out, the first thing you need to do is stop digging. Apparently, State Senator Mark Leno and his 45 co-sponsors, including South Bay Assemblyman Ted Lieu and South Bay State Senator Jenny Oropeza, missed that lesson in kindergarten.
With the State facing an almost 20 billion dollar budget deficit in the coming year and pension obligations that are driving California over a cliff, they have decided that a universal health care plan, with a price tag of almost 42 billion dollars in its first year alone, is a worthwhile use of the legislature’s time. Yes, you heard me right: while government managed health care may be on life support in Congress, California’s state senate is considering legislation to outlaw private insurance and have the state of California seize control of more than 200 billion dollars in private industry!
They have reintroduced SB 810, the California Universal Healthcare Act, which is arguably one of the most capricious and foolish bills ever written. Forget AB 32, the California Cap & Trade Bill with its over 150 billion dollar/1.1 million jobs price tag, this is the biggest power grab the legislature has tried for yet.
The utter illegality of ”nationalizing” an entire industry at the state level aside, this bill is a fiscal disaster. California’s non-partisan Legislative Analysis Office does not mince words on this, stating:
“The analysis predicted a net shortfall of $42 billion in the FY 2011-2012, the first full year of implementation, and $46 billion in 2015-2016… The LAO estimated that it would take a tax of 16 percent to mitigate the predicted shortfall in revenues.”
So let’s review: the state is in the midst of a 21 billion dollar revenue shortfall, our economy is in shambles with nearly 13% unemployment, and our legislators are busy wasting time on a single payer health care plan that is not only illegal, but will increase payroll taxes on the middle class by 16 percent (yes, a 26% state income tax to afford this), and triple the budget deficit to at least 63 billion in one year.
This exemplifies why we need new leadership in Sacramento. Massuchusetts just elected Scott Brown to the US Senate, in what was by consensus considered a referendum on progressive health care reform, and our lawmakers in Sacramento are trying to “nationalize” an entire industry. The words of Lord d’Abernon regarding state sponsored insanity ring true: “It appears almost impossible to hope for the recovery of a country where such things are possible. It is certainly vain to hope for it unless power is taken entirely from the lunatics presently in charge.”
California is in deep trouble– record unemployment, thousands of farms being destroyed by drought, perennial budget deficits in the tens of billions of dollars, and pension and salary obligations spiraling out of control– and the South Bay’s Representatives in Sacramento, Ted Lieu and Jenny Oropeza, are wasting the people’s time and money promoting the most insipid piece of legislation in Sacramento’s history. A reasonable person has to ask: have they completely and utterly lost their minds?! Is this a worthwhile use of my lawmaker’s time? Are their lawmaking efforts aligned with the issues I care about?
It’s clear that we need a new breed of leadership in Sacramento- who will tackle the real problems, not author illegal legislation that will bankrupt the state.
Topics: Health Care, Sacramento | 9 Comments »
9 Responses to “California’s Misplaced Priorities: Going for “Broke” with Universal Health Care”
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Sure- check out the CA Legislative Analyst’s Office or State Senator Mark Leno’s website for the full text of the bill and its financial impact.
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