Opinion: Editorial
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Also by Badger Herald Editorial Board:
- The Invisible Man Award: Wyndham Manning (May 7, 2009)
- The People's Choice Award: Jacqueline Hitchon et. al (May 7, 2009)
- The Lifetime Achievement Award: ASM (May 7, 2009)
- Honest representation (May 5, 2009)
- Junger for ASM Chair (May 5, 2009)
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Turns out Healthy Wisconsin never died after all. It was just sick.
Democrats won control of both houses of the state Legislature two weeks ago, and Sen. Jon Erpenbach, D-Waunakee, wasted no time in announcing his plan to revive the universal health care proposal next year.
We can’t fault Erpenbach for his passion on this subject. He has consistently pushed the issue. No doubt he now feels emboldened by the Democrats’ triumph as well as the success of an advisory referendum in 22
Of course, the referendum didn’t specify who would pay for this. Being familiar with Healthy Wisconsin, we’ll fill in the blanks: state workers will, in the form of a payroll tax projected to collect $15 billion.
Gov. Jim Doyle clearly opposes the reintroduction of Healthy Wisconsin, and for good reason. The state faces a $5 billion budget shortfall next biennium. This massive deficit will put legislators’ skills to the utmost challenge, and closing it will require sharp spending cuts along with — quite likely — new state sales or income taxes.
Besides adding another across-the-board tax in a weak economy, Healthy Wisconsin would serve to distract legislators from the important and hard budget decisions that lay ahead. Doyle signed the state’s last biennial budget 117 days late, in part because of the roadblock that the first incarnation of Healthy Wisconsin posed to the budget process. The state must avoid such a delay this time, an end compromised by the plan’s reintroduction.
Another consideration is important. President-elect Barack Obama campaigned on a platform that included some form of universal health care on the federal level. Whether Obama makes this a policy priority remains to be seen, of course, but like Doyle, we view federal action as the preferable option for comprehensive health care reform. This approach prevents
Some legislators who previously supported Healthy Wisconsin have wisely recognized it should not be revived this upcoming year. Sen. Bob Jauch, D-Poplar, says the plan has too many problems and not enough support.
Jauch knows he and his colleagues have enough on their plates as is. Healthy
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I do hope Doyle is better at math than this journalist. Yes, there is a $15 billion tax, but that replaces the $17 billion they currently pay in health care premiums. That’s a $2 billion savings.
As a former CEO, I’d jump at that option in a heartbeat.
The problem is that the health insurance industry would be eliminated, and the savings would extend care to all of those uninsureds. The industry doesn’t like that one bit and have bought and paid for our politicians so they will block the effort.
So far it has worked, but thanks to Jon Erpenbach, not for long. This is the best thing that could happen to our state’s businesses and economy.
It’s time for the insurance industry (and WMC) to sit this out.
Would you rather have food, or shelter, or health care? It’s a tough choice that old, young, unemployed, underemployed and poor people have to make. We’ve ignored the problem far too long. I agree that federal health care is the solution, but I’m afraid it’s a long way from happening. How about providing 2-4 years of relief here in Wisconsin?
“the ability of out-of-state residents to treat the Badger State as their own personal health care haven”
That’s what Wisconsin needs - a bunch of freeloaders to increase the deficit! Then the huge taxes will drive people who actually pay taxes out of the state. Soon there will be no “rich” people in the state and the feds can be called for a bailout.
Ta-Da!