I am not Jonathan Swift. Though you should read him. Gulliver’s Travels was a hoot. Swift’s ‘Modest Proposal’ is good, so I bring it forward.
Health care is expensive and elusive in this great nation. We could all be better with universal access and better service. But the medical profession fights government regulation. And it has been successful.
When the proposal that all Americans should have health insurance was weakly put forth in the “Affordable Care Act” (Obamacare), the plan was negotiated with the health insurance industry.
So we got the mess we have. It’s just as complicated as it was before the ACA, and now Republicans are chipping away at it.
The ACA got more people insured. And this lowered overall health care costs for a while. Don’t think I’m here supporting it. It’s complicated. Getting more people insured lowers costs for us all. This is a fact.
But the Idaho legislature now wants us to go in the other direction.
Our elected legislators want to get less people health insurance.
And their proposal is that we should be checking if they are working so they would then be eligible for the health insurance benefit.
Let me offer my modest proposal.
All Idaho legislators, who work ¼ time, receive taxpayer funded health insurance. Their benefit costs us Idahoans more than $2M a year. Why don’t we put some work requirements on them?
I live in a district where my State Senator will not attend public forums. And my Representative does not respond to my emails. Are they working? But I’m paying for their health insurance?
I’m getting riled up here.
I can see why the folks in the Marble Dome are riled up. I don’t like sending my money off to folks who aren’t working.
Let me give you an example.
I have served on the Idaho Health and Welfare Board for three years. I have attended every meeting in person. Representative John Vander Woude was also, in statute, a member. He was never in attendance.
But my taxes are paying for his health insurance. And our taxes are not paying for mine.
So just who is working here?
Maybe somebody could tell me.
Here is my modest proposal. If Medicaid expansion health care recipients need to prove they are working, so should our elected representatives.
I could go further. The state of Idaho is the largest employer in this state. And you and I pay top dollar for all of these state employees’ health insurance. Are they working? Did they show up?
In fact, us taxpayers pay a lot more for state employee health insurance than we do for Medicaid Expansion folks.
So let the burden of proving you’re working come down on all who suck at the taxpayer teat.
Well, maybe the burden on all state employees is too much. For now, let’s just limit it to the elected folks.
Brad, did you do 80 hours this last month? Please submit the form.
Raul, can you please have your secretary fill out the form for you?
And all you State Senators and Representatives, yeah, Speaker Moyle too, submit the forms so us taxpayers can be assured. Are you really working?
It’s just a modest proposal. If you are working for our common good, we would be glad to pay for your health insurance. If not, or you somehow don’t find the time to acknowledge our inquiry, sorry.
It really is simple. Do you deserve our money?
That’s what you are saying.
And that is what I am saying.
It is a modest proposal.
Let’s see.
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