I am old enough to remember when Vermont was one of the most reliably Republican states in the country.
That, of course, was before the yuppie sprawl from New York and Massachusetts.
Now it is the state, U. S. Senate-wise, of leftist Patrick Leahy, self-described socialist Bernie Sanders….and a serious attempt by its current Governor to implement single-payer (read that socialized) health care.
So how\’s that attempt working out?
From Sarah Wheaton\’s article for politico.com:
Vermontwas supposed to be the beacon for a single-payer health care systemin America. But now its plans are in ruins, and its onetime championGov. Peter Shumlin may have set back the cause.
Vermontunder Shumlin became the most visible trailblazer. Until Wednesday,when the governor admitted what critics had said all along: Hecouldn\’t pay for it.
“Itis not the right time for Vermont” to pass a single-payer system,Shumlin acknowledged in a public statement ending his signatureinitiative. He concluded the 11.5 percent payroll assessments onbusinesses and sliding premiums up to 9.5 percent of individuals\’income “might hurt our economy.”
Vermont\’soutcome is a “small speed bump,” said New York Assembly memberRichard Gottfried, who\’s been pushing single-payer bills for morethan 20 years. But opponents says it\’s the end of the road.
“Ifcobalt blue Vermont couldn\’t find a way to make single-payerhappen, then it’\’ very unlikely that any other state will,” saidJack Mozloom, spokesman for the National Federation of IndependentBusiness.
“Therewill never be a good time for a massive tax increase on employers andconsumers in Vermont, so they should abandon that silly idea now andget serious,” Mozloom added.
I love that “it\’s not the right time for Vermont” line. Why not, Governor Shumlin? Because businesses might be a tad averse to an 11.5% bump in the already-high taxation they endure, and individuals – the ones who pay taxes rather than live off of them – might be a tad averse to that 9.5% max of premium payments? D\’ya think that might have something to do with it?
But my favorite is Richard Gottfried calling this “small speed bump”. That\’s like saying Mount Everest is a small speed bump if you\’re traveling from Lhotse to Kada Pufeng.
The late Margaret Thatcher famously said “The trouble with Socialism is that eventually you run out of other people\’s money”. Who would have thought that, almost two years after her death, Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin would wind up seconding her motion?
