Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Governor Dictator

Nickel and diming us to death, the latest move by Democrat Governor Rod Blagojevich rams health care subsidies down our throats. Tribune:
In a move that has infuriated some lawmakers, Gov. Rod Blagojevich has filed the first in a series of orders that would allow him to broadly expand who is eligible for state-subsidized health insurance without the approval of the legislature. [snip]

The rule will last no more than five months unless the change is approved by an obscure rules-making committee of 12 state lawmakers who meet Tuesday in Chicago. The rule can be suspended if eight members vote against it. [snip]

Under the new rules, a family of four could buy discounted insurance as long as its household income is no more than $82,600 a year, which is well above the previous FamilyCare limit of $38,202.
$82, 600 is 400% of the federally defined poverty level. Four times the poverty level and we should subsidize this? Where will the money come from? Our pockets, already hit with threatened tax increases at every level of (Dem) government. This latest lunacy even as the state can't pay its current bills and pension obligations are massively underfunded. How much will it cost? The governor says $225 million a year. Opposing legislators say it will cost $300-$360 million a year. But this doesn't bother Blagojevich. The Daily Herald quotes two lawmakers on the committee:
Suburban lawmakers serving on the committee that now holds the fate of the health-care plan say this is far too big and costly to be decided by such an obscure group.

"It's not that we don't want to provide health care for these people, I don't think we have the authority," said state Rep. Rosemary Mulligan, a Des Plaines Republican.

"No matter how you feel about health care … this isn't a proper way for an initiative that's this important, to kind of slide it through this way," echoed state Sen. Randy Hultgren, a Winfield Republican.

Will enough Democrats on the committee vote to put a stop to this? Will they stand up to Governor Dictator? We won't hold our breath, but voters may have something to say about it next fall.

UPDATE: Dems are worried. Prairie State Blue:

People who live in communities which see rapid increases in property values are asking that their taxes not reflect the new value of their property.
On the one hand, since government must collect those taxes from someone, that means that the cost of governemt falls more heavily on those who are not experiencing the growth in their wealth.
On the other hand, people who merely want to live out their lives in the houses and neighborhoods they are used to fear that the cost of taxes will deprive them of their homes.
Duh.

Related posts: NoPhoneTax.com, Pocketbook Politics, Pattycake, Pattycake Plays Again, Governor Delusional

Via Team America:

Chicago Democratic Tax Increases: $292 million
1. 15% property tax increase
2. Higher water taxes
3. Higher sewer taxes
4. Higher phone taxes
5. Higher beer taxes
6. Higher wine taxes
7. Higher liquor taxes
8. Higher leased car taxes
9. Higher office equipment taxes
10. Higher parking taxes
11. New 15 cent per square foot tax on new office space
12. New $120 annual tax on SUVs
13. New 10 cent tax on bottled water

Collar County Democratic Tax Increases: $158 million
14. Increased Cook and Lake county sales tax
(This is to bail out the CTA which the Illinois Inspector General reported has a 46% absentee rate and several floors of its headquarters have been unoccupied for years).

Cook County Democratic Tax Increases: $888 million
15. Triple sales taxes
16. Double gas taxes
17. Double parking taxes
(This is to hire 1,100 new employees, including patronage jobs)

State of Illinois Democratic Tax Increases: $7 billion
18. New Gross Receipts Tax (Delayed by the state legislature)

Federal Expected Democratic Tax Increases: Tens of Billions
19. Alternative Minimum Tax: increased from 4 million paying to 23 million
20. Marginal Tax Rate Increase: Current tax relief will expire, raising the rate to 39%
21. Social Security Tax increase: lifting the $94,000 income cap on FICA tax
22. Dingell Carbon Tax: New federal property tax against any home over 3,000 square feet.

No comments: