Via Insider Advantage:
Sen. David Shafer, R-Duluth, one of two announced candidates for lieutenant governor in 2010, says he will oppose the governor’s plans to raise taxes on hospitals and health plans to fund projected budgetary shortfalls in Medicaid.
“This new tax would put a greater strain on private health insurance plans, businesses who provide health coverage to their employees and individuals who pay for their own insurance or health care costs out-of-pocket,” Shafer said. “The last thing we want to do is make it harder for employers and individuals to afford adequate coverage.”
The Governor’s plan is about the dumbest I’ve heard. “Hey I know, lets tax the people who are doing what is right (getting their own health insurance) to pay for the slack asses who aren’t”.
I’ve got a better idea. Slap a 1.6% tax on car rims, flat screen TV, cell phones over $50, and after market car stereo accessories.
I will add that I’m with him on that stupid homeowner’s tax grant thingie which is basically welfare for cities and counties. That was a dumb idea. If the state has extra money it wants to give back, lower taxes. Don’t just move the money from one activity to another.
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I’ve got a better idea. Slap a 1.6% tax on car rims, flat screen TV, cell phones over $50, and after market car stereo accessories.
I’ve got an even better idea. Don’t raise taxes on anyone at all.
Except Bambi and Kiki. For the Children.
Sen. David Shafer is right! Why do we punish the people who play by the rules?
“The Governor’s plan is about the dumbest I’ve heard. “Hey I know, lets tax the people who are doing what is right (getting their own health insurance) to pay for the slack asses who aren’t’.”
That was my quote John, not Senator Shafer’s.
Ahhh, life is good. What a pleasure to be able to count on ending the week as usual with another potful of good feelings, love, generosity, and huge slurps from the cup of human kindness, all courtesy of your local “conservative” Mr. Potter wannabe’s. Keep it up, guys, so the rest of us can have constant reminders of the type of people we do not aspire to emulate.
Frankly, I think every legilsator should have to pay $5,000 into a fund for each piece of legislation they sponsor or sign on to. At the end of the session, all that money would be divided up and refunded to the taxpayers.
It would have three benefits:
1) It would make legislators careful about dropping stupid legislation (about 90 percent of what’s dropped)
2) It would lead to less government intervention in things the government doesn’t belong in
3) It would raise some revenue
Think about it. So far we’d have about $760,000 from the Senate and $4.66 million from the House! $5.4 million and we’re only three weeks into the session.
I agree E-Dad,
As a libertarian I don’t like taxes in general. But I do believe if you tax something you will get less of it. Therefore, not a bad idea, tax government growth. Maybe we should also tax
bribescampaign contributions.Daniel — I didn’t even include House and Senate Resolutions in that. How about $10,000 for each of those because that usually leads to BIG BIG tickets items
How about, for every time some liberal Democrat (like Perdue) wants to hike a tax, the people that vote for it are required to pay that tax percentage X 10 out of their salary; and for every time some liberal Democrat (like Richardson or Cagle) wants to spend tax money by giving it away to others who “deserve” it, the people that vote for it are required to either pay for it out of their own pockets, or else require that the total cost be assessed against the voters in THEIR districts ONLY.
Apparently, I’m not the only one that is having difficulty understanding how the best way to get hospitals more money is by taking it from the hospitals.
At the risk of repeating myself, Shafer’s da man!
This gives me more reason to vote for Shafer, and you should too. Vote for Shafer, do it for the children.
The PR campaign for Chris for whatever, would like to give Chris credit for making sense!
“The Governor’s plan is about the dumbest I’ve heard. “Hey I know, lets tax the people who are doing what is right (getting their own health insurance) to pay for the slack asses who aren’t’.”
Is Farris gonna announce for Insurance Commissioner yet?
boyreporter
Let me follow your lack of logic. You agree with adding a tax to health insurance to fix the problem of not enough employers or individuals buying it? This is not liberal or conservative it is just stupid!
If you had a product which more and more people could not afford would you raise the price to get more people to buy to fix the problem if you had to make and service the product regardless if you got paid?
Let’s scratch DHR, and give 1/4th of their budget to Medicaid.
jenny
In all due respect that does not fix the problem it only delays it. You cannot have a system that people get healthcare and it is not tied to paying for it. The hospitals have high outstanding receivables for services they provided. And people who pay taxes and have insurance pick up the bill via taxes or increases in healthcare cost via premium, deductable….. This is a model that only gets worse in the long run.
We must have a system that forces people to pay who have jobs. Also we must understand that healthcare is a resource and everybody cannot have the same coverage and pay a lower rate. Your husband should have the right to use Viagra (if needed) but it should not be subsidized by the government.
Magic Jeff – Why do you think a Unix System Admin would be remotely interested or qualified to be Insurance Commissioner? Besides I’m not a pandering fool, which seems to be a pre-requisite for the job.
Logic, schmogic. I was just referring to the constant tone of money worship above all else. It’s not edifying, that’s all…and so predictable.
The entire game is to shift even MORE cost onto private insurance.
18 to 25% ANNUAL insurance increases on the self-employed are making more folks drop out of the insured category every day.
We are not $250,000 a year AIG employees or $125,000 UAW workers with employer paid benies. We are the folks being taxed to PAY these benefits for employees for whom there is no economic justification.
The USA is headed straight toward a 100% government employment system as all other jobs are targeted for extermination.
The disastrous effects of their policies on the very foundations of American life, ethics, and reward/punishment outcomes is totally lost with the DC politicians.
And now the ramifications are lost on Sonny Perdue.
John Konop 01.30.09 at 7:02 pm
boyreporter
Let me follow your lack of logic.
That should be about as tough as following godzilla’s path through downtown Tokyo…
Good old Sonny. Probably came up with this one while he was out fishing somewhere.
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