Posted on 07/23/2007 9:05:29 PM PDT by gpapa
When Louis Brandeis praised the 50 states as "laboratories of democracy," he didn't claim that every policy experiment would work. So we hope the eyes of America will turn to Wisconsin, and the effort by Madison Democrats to make that "progressive" state a Petri dish for government-run health care.
This exercise is especially instructive, because it reveals where the "single-payer," universal coverage folks end up. Democrats who run the Wisconsin Senate have dropped the Washington pretense of incremental health-care reform and moved directly to passing a plan to insure every resident under the age of 65 in the state. And, wow, is "free" health care expensive. The plan would cost an estimated $15.2 billion, or $3 billion more than the state currently collects in all income, sales and corporate income taxes. It represents an average of $510 a month in higher taxes for every Wisconsin worker.
(Excerpt) Read more at opinionjournal.com ...
SOOOOOO glad I left Wisconsin, tax hell extraordinaire last month.
I live in a great part of Wisconsin which is still conservative and appreciates family values. But I can tell you I am moving to a western state once I get my degree.
I left the Fox Valley (Neenah), but the problem is the loons in Milwaukee and Madison run the asylum.
One thing I read about Wisconsin is that people with out of state plates need to drive ten under the limit there. It’s on my list of places to avoid.
Ah, the cheeseheads aren’t so bad...a good place to go on Sunday beer runs!
You could cut medical costs in half if you eliminated the lawyers’ and the plaintiffs’ take.
Wisconsin is the only state that ends with SIN!
WOW!
This is a hideously bad idea. It puts states in competition with each other to attract businesses. Poor states will suffer a huge drain.
“Coverage for everybody” amounts to nothing more than corporate welfare for well-connected insurance companies.
Why would anyone in their right mind think lawyers know better about medicine than the doctors? The whole idea is preposterous. Don’t vote for lawyers.
Not true. I drive exensively in Wisconsin (My native state, which I cannot deny despite its socialistic political climate) during my biennial visits with friends, kinfolk and former colleagues. One such visit occurred July 8-13 this summer; I typically drive at, or one or two blips below, posted speed limits without problems.
...and the vast majority of doctors know precious little about public health policy.
America is almost a lawyerocracy. The biggest difference I’ve seen between American and European healthcare is lawyers aren’t involved in the euro healthcare.
Bookmark
“The plan would cost an estimated $15.2 billion, or $3 billion more than the state currently collects in all income, sales and corporate income taxes.”
And you can bet EVERYTHING you have that this estimate is LOW, VERY LOW....
Figure it’s 800 bucks a year and split the difference between a business tax and the employee — 400 each. Both are paying more than that to private insurers now.
Boy, I wish Wisconsin would pass this. Then Wisconsin could be a magnet for parasites much like San Fransicko is a magnet for perverts. Whatever gets them out of MY wallet....
An even better example:
Governor Schwarzenegger Should Go to Nashville
American Thinker ^ | January.17,2007 | Patrick Poole
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1769201/posts
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.