Posted on 09/05/2006 1:16:11 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
SACRAMENTO
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced Tuesday that he will veto a universal health care bill that is headed for his desk, claiming the measure would set up a "vast new bureaucracy" that would be too expensive.
The Republican governor said the single-payer system proposed by Sen. Sheila Kuehl would "cost the state billions and lead to significant new taxes on individuals and businesses, without solving the critical issue of affordability.
"I won't jeopardize the economy of our state for such a purpose," the governor said in a statement.
Kuehl, D-Santa Monica, said Schwarzenegger's comments indicated he "has not read the bill, doesn't understand the bill or is being completely misdirected by his handlers." She said the measure would save money.
"Where there are no cost controls at all now, and enormous administrative overhead and profit for insurance companies, there would have been a transparent system that actually would succeed in making health care coverage affordable in California," she said in a statement issued Tuesday.
The bill would provide every California resident with health insurance through a system controlled by a new entity called the California Health Insurance Agency. It would be under the control of a health insurance commissioner appointed by the governor.
The legislation also would establish a state commission to recommend to the governor and Legislature how much to charge patients and businesses in premiums to help pay for the system.
Kuehl said the premiums would have "taken the place of all premiums, copays and deductibles we now pay, saving every person who now pays for health care significant money."
The bill was approved by lawmakers last week as they wrapped up their 2006 session, but it has not reached Schwarzenegger yet, aides said Tuesday.
Schwarzenegger's Democratic opponent, state Treasurer Phil Angelides, also opposed the measure.
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On the Net:
Read the bill, SB840, at http://www.senate.ca.gov
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But he will jeopardize it for Global Warming.
I wish the bill would pass. Maybe if California manages to bankrupt itself and hemhorrages voters to the rest of the country seeking better health care, the rest of the country would take heed and shut the hell up about this universal health care nonsense.
You beat me to it.
Good news.
This is nothing but Dem whipping up a sensitive issue during a election year, Angelides campaign looks stuck and needed a issue to grab on. Arnold is a smart politician and wised up to these political games.
Global warming, bond financing, stem cell research, illegal immigration--yes. Universal healthcare: No.
Finally, some sign of conservatism from the guy.
In effect, this plan, like all others before it, takes negotiated and earned benefits payable to certain wage earners and redirect them to others who have not paid, nor worked for those benefits.
a side note, Villaraigosa endorsed Angelides today.
Do you think the Gub will now endorse DiFi to counteract it?
The Deutsch boy giving the finger to the dyke? (No offense, Zelda.)
This is really the Roulette Governor .... one good decision and then a string of duds....
This is just too, too unpredictable.... but that creep Angelides is so far off the deep end that I don't think I could hold my nose long enough to vote for him.
What to do!
Apparently she has never heard of Kaiser Permanaente.
I dont see Arnie doing it, especially endorsing Difi over Mountjoy would piss off the Republican voters and is not a good election strategy.
The article says Angelides opposed it too.
thats nice, now Angelides base must be upset at his opposition to it :). Arnie has even more reasons to confident at the election.
The fact he hasn't endorsed Mountjoy is doing just that, ironically enough. Welcome to FR, btw. :-)
one good decision and then a string of duds....
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sounds like his movie career. ;-)
But he couldn't find the courage to veto the pro-homsexual education bills. What a shame. This is what passes for conservative nowadays?!
Yes, it is.
thanks, it is hard to see why he hasn't done so. Defeating DiFi is a huge task, but Mountjoy is trying even when he doesn't have much campaign funds or support from national GOP senate committee. Arnie probably does not want to be dragged in that race, he is trying to have balance of attracting independent voters support and not demotivating his conservative base.
(No more Olmert! No more Kadima! No more Oslo! )
"Saving them significant money on their own costs, however they will also begin paying of half a dozen other people."
add "the costs of" (half a dozen, etc.)
well, heck , let's just borrow some more money then, it's never stopped him before.
(No more Olmert! No more Kadima! No more Oslo! )
Then all the Kaliforniacrats will pollute your state...keep 'em there...
I think global warming caused by CO2 is totally unproven but there are other reasons to cut down on burning coal, such as substantial amounts of real pollutants released by some coal plants: sulphur dioxide gas, NO2, lead, and uranium. So hopefully that bill will lead to replacement of some coal plants with natural gas and clean nuclear power plants and that will be the end of it. That could help clean up the air in the entire western US, which is getting dirtier because of pollution drifting over here from China. (When will the MSM start to blame China for increased pollution in North America?)
(No more Olmert! No more Kadima! No more Oslo! )
Didn't they learn anything from MediCal?
The question is who determines the threshold of a "damaged economy"? If it's predicated on a subjective declaration, we all know how economic indicators can be adjusted, massaged and manipulated to reach any conclusion you want. My guess is that Greenold Schwarzenegger will never take such a step. If he tried he has surrounded himself with too many liberal women shrieking in his ear to ever let him do so.
He's good on universal health care...bad on stem cell research.
IIRC, the governor has the power to declare an economic emergency and make budget cuts to balance the state budget, regardless of what the legislature thinks. Arnold did that a few years ago but then was able to restore most of the budget cuts because of rising tax revenues. So I would hope that this "global warming" bill has similar provisions that give the governor the power to decide unilaterally if the economy is being significantly damaged. I doubt that Arnold would have signed the bill without those provisions giving him that power. This is worth some research time.
Gee, that's a pretty good definition of Socialism. "From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs".
I expressed my desire (somewhat sarcastic) for Arnie to sign this, as it would have helped (along with the absurd Green Energy bill) bankrupt the state, and thereby demonstrate the futiliy of the current move toward socialism.
I notice the bill refers to billing employers. Here's the version I like: pass this and everyone in CA gets a bill for their new state insurance every month! And paying this bill is mandatory! (Jail if you don't). Employers could be required to send the money they were paying for insurance to employees effective day X. This would be the opposite of "witholding", in terms of psychological impact.
For once you'd see: "government is costing my money and taking away more freedom of choice".
No. That's known as the Mid-Year Budget Correction. Many states have it but not California. It was part of Proposition 76 on the November 2005 Special Election ballot. It failed.
According to FairOpinion [here and here], Arnold has to distance himself from all Republicans or else he will lose:
• Sure, you want Arnold to trot out McClintock and run on "McClintock is conservative" to get 35% of the voters vote for him, if he is lucky, and 65% AGAINST him. Brtilliant strategy, if you want Angelides to win.
• Arnold runs around campaigning for the Republican candidates in CA, even hopeless ones, like Mountjoy, it doesn't do the Republicans any good, Arnold ends up typecasting himself and loses to Angelides.
(No more Olmert! No more Kadima! No more Oslo! )
THIS IS NOT THE AMERICAN WAY, people! NOT AT ALL!!! We are losing our way by leaps and bounds!!!
FO never said that and never would.
Bravo! Arnold! You are precisely right.
Yes bich! There was a "transparent" system in the USSR, too!!!
Your experience exactly mirrors nearly everyone I know who has Kaiser. The only one I know who had a great experience with Kaiser was a San Francisco Firefighter. Ah, a union member.
Now this here ain't what I remember you screamin at us night and day like some kind of banshee, FairyOpinion!!! Were you perhaps lyin to us somemore???
Whether or not it's "socialism", Fur Shur it's theft on a grand scale. No doubt some interesting things would happen when the California tax collectors went to Uncle Sam to tap federal employee's health benefits.
Not exactly. According to the bill, he can adjust the deadlines for implementation for a period not exceeding one year... in the event of extraordinary circumstances, catastrophic events, or threat of significant economic harm.
The ability to suspend the regulations offers little appeasement to most businesses (who strenuously oppose this law). Think about the major manufacturing firm that completely revamps its painting process, making huge new investments, to try to comply with the arbitrary CO2 limits established by the law. If it doesn't reduce emissions enough, it spends more money through the cap-and-trade scheme to buy carbon credits. Over a period of years, it has reported poorer and poorer earnings and laid off employees in the process. At what point is a Governor going to say "this is causing significant economic harm"?
Or the ABC Cement Co., who views the law and concludes that it cannot continue to do business in California and decides to do expand in Nevada instead of California or--worse yet--closes down it's California operation and relocates. Does this qualify as a catastrophic event? Nope.
Why wait to see the impact? Mandating arbitrary caps, implementing more onerous regulation, and imposing new financial investment requirements on business to fight windmills based on junk-science is BAD POLICY on its face!
This is TERRIBLE law. Period!
For everything else there was Gray Davis!!!
Keep 'em comin!!! This one's perfect, too!!!
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