Healthy Wisconsin Politically Unhealthy

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On Sunday, the Gazette editorialized about the “Healthy Wisconsin” healthcare plan promoted by state democrats.

JG Editorial Excerpt:
No one has had sufficient time to analyze it.

I’ll agree with that.

JG Editorial Excerpt:
When you're talking about a massive new social program requiring a tax…….

Uh-oh. There they go. Lets slam it because it's a democratic plan which means it's obviously a social program and not some well-crafted comprehensive healthcare plan responsibly written by the compassionate conservative wing of the Republican Party. The Gazette then poked fun at the words of Judy Robson, which is fair enough, but fortunately lost all of their standing and reasoning by using the words of R.J. Pirlot, a member of the WMC as supporting evidence. The WMC says so, so there…

JG Editorial Excerpt:
In Tuesday's Gazette, Robson predicted "massive property tax relief" because local governments would be required to pass savings in employee benefits back to residents.

Sounds logical to me.

JG Editorial Excerpt:
Sen. Neal Kedzie, R-Elkhorn, says the nearly 400-page budget amendment was crafted Monday night.

Anytime you can get a group of politicians together to put together a 400-page piece of work about anything in one night, THAT is the real story here. Forget the healthcare program.

JG Editorial Excerpt:
Republicans who control the Assembly say they will reject it.

Simple question here – WHY? Certainly, if a group of democrats can slap something together in one night, a group of Republicans should be able to read it and comprehend it in two. If they vote against it on faults, errors and inconsistency, well, that's different.

JG Editorial Excerpt:
Most business groups criticized it and favor market-driven plans that create incentives for people to be good health care consumers.

I'll make a huge assumption and compromise here, and pretend we have the same definition of market-driven. What's wrong with instituting Healthy Wisconsin and then let the markets drive it? Sure, if it can be abused, it will, but how do people become good healthcare consumers? Why do we expect such careful spending and research from healthcare consumers when our capitalistic society is based on the very freedom to buy and spend on wants and needs as we see fit? Why worry about incentives or disincentives?

JG Editorial Excerpt:
Actually, by introducing it at the last minute, without giving everyone a fair chance to evaluate it, Democrats will have no one to blame but themselves.

When the republicans operated like this, it was ok. Those were bi-partisan times back then, but now it's bickering partisan time with the Democrats in charge. This may be a viable, workable plan but WHAT are the reasons to vote against it? According to the Gazette, if the Republicans vote against Healthy Wisconsin, it’s the Democrats fault. Who’s playing politics?Lastly for good measure, the Gazette pasted this Cagle Cartoon on socialism next to this editorial. Obviously, the first character is a bum and if the third character is meant to be you - the newspaper reader - then who is the middle-man? Only in this case would I say it must be - the publisher.