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September 10, 2008

The Wednesday Update

September 10, 2008  Volume 2, Issue 37  In This Issue:  One Size Fits All  Healthcare

September, 2008 Volume 2, Number 37 The Wednesday Update
In This Issue: 1. One Size Fits All 2.  The Taxman Cometh 3. Doyle for Sale   Make a Donation today!	Keeping Free Marketers Current on Issues Thanks for your support of Wisconsin Club for Growth! We hope you enjoy the newsletter. Our goal is to be brief, informative and bit provocative. We welcome your feedback. Please feel free to contact us anytime by emailing staff@wicfg.com , or come visit us on the worldwide web. Wisconsin Club for Growth Website Tell a Friend! One Size Fits All Healthcare On August 26th, the U.S. Census Bureau released its annual report estimating the number of citizens without health care.  According to the report, the percentage of U.S. citizens without health care actually dropped slightly between 2006 (15.8%) and 2007 (15.3%), in part due to a real median income increase of 1.3%.  In fact, median income for blacks and non-Hispanic whites rose during that time – the first real median income increase since 1999.  According to the survey, the number of citizens with health insurance increased in 2007 to 253.4 million, up from 249.8 million in 2006.  In Wisconsin, the numbers look even better.  In 2007, the number of individuals without health care dropped from 9.7% in 2006 to 8.5% 2007 – before the expansion of BadgerCare Governor Jim Doyle signed into law in the last budget even went into effect.  Wisconsin’s drop was the sixth largest reduction in the percentage of the uninsured in the nation – made even more stunning by the fact that our state already has one of the lowest uninsured rates in the U.S.   Yet when Wisconsin Senate Democrats see these numbers, they don’t see good news.  Instead, they believe these numbers support their plan to completely dismantle the health care system in Wisconsin and replace it with a government-run plan.  Last session, Senate Democrats tried to include their plan, dubbed “Healthy Wisconsin,” in the biennial budget.  Thankfully it was removed by Assembly Republicans in final budget negotiations.   What the census numbers don’t tell us, however, is why people are uninsured – and in the end, that may be a major reason why a one-size-fits-all approach to government-run health care will not work.  Many people don’t have health insurance because they are low income, and don’t have access to affordable health plans.  Others have pre-existing conditions that make it difficult to get health care.  Some are healthy and young, and therefore simply choose to live without it.  Others may be eligible for government health care, but never apply to receive it.  Some are uninsured for long periods of time; others for only very short periods. Yet a government-run style system as proposed by Senate Democrats takes into account none of these nuances.  It essentially represents a sledgehammer intended to shatter the 92% of the insurance system that is working, without regard to fixing any of the problems in the current system.   When it comes to reforming health care in Wisconsin, the Democrat’s cure is far worse than the disease.   .   The Tax Man Cometh Despite County Executive Scott Walker’s veto, the Milwaukee County Board has voted to forge ahead with tripling the local sales tax in order to fund parks, transit, and – oh yeah – a little “property tax relief.”  We have seen how well it works to raise taxes in order to keep taxes down.   Naturally, the tax increase would make Milwaukee County a tax island, encouraging people to buy more and more big-ticket items in surrounding counties with lower tax rates.  As a result, tax receipts in Milwaukee could actually drop, as people decide to purchase goods where they’re cheapest.  Of course, when that happens, the County Board will once again turn to taxpayers to make up the difference.   This sales tax increase is being proposed at the worst time possible for Milwaukee businesses.  Recent federal figures show Wisconsin’s economy growing at half the national rate, with large companies such as MillerCoors moving their headquarters to Chicago.  Other companies, after being lured by more tax-friendly states, are sure to follow, taking good jobs with them.   The sales tax increase will now go to the voters as an advisory referendum, at which point citizens can reject the County Board’s attempt to dig deeper into their pockets.  Of course, regardless of the outcome of the referendum, state law prohibits local governments from raising their own sales tax above the .5% Milwaukee has already instituted (plus the .1% stadium tax).  Hopefully, cooler heads will prevail and the Legislature will block the increase – standing up for Milwaukee’s taxpayers when their own county supervisors attempt to rob them blind.       Doyle for Sale Advocates for clean energy have long recognized nuclear power as a way to provide energy to consumers without the greenhouse gases emitted by other forms of energy, such as coal.  Until recently, Governor Jim Doyle was considered an opponent of nuclear power. However, just last week, Doyle softened his stance on nuclear power after he accepted $24,000 in campaign contributions from executives of a Florida nuclear utility just weeks earlier.  According to the AP:   Florida Power & Light Co. owns the Point Beach nuclear power plant near Two Rivers. The Wisconsin Democracy Campaign's review of Doyle's campaign finances found 30 executives and one of their spouses from Florida Power & Light and their three other nuclear power plants handed Doyle's campaign $23,750 on June 27.   Doyle has long been an opponent of nuclear power. But in August he said he was now open to studying the option.   Congrats to Jim Doyle for recognizing that nuclear power may be an important part of our energy policy in Wisconsin.  Apparently, $24,000 speaks pretty loudly in the Governor’s office.  Sadly, taxpayers don’t seem to have the same access.