Gallo Notes-August 1st, 2008
For Liberals to wrongly use the line, “It’s a tax on sick people” should be a sin. Sooner or later the people of Northeast Mississippi will see through Speaker McCoy for what he really is-a ruthless Yellow-Dog liberal. How else can you explain any politician who stands before the cameras and microphones and whines about the hard-hearted governor who wants to tax sick people with his uncompromising position on Medicaid?
Let me take you back to March 9th, 1993. The MS House of Representatives voted on a bill called the Technical Amendments to Medicaid. The Bill contained the original language that authorized the Upper Payments Limits Program.
S.B. No. 2615 passed the House not only in 1993’s Session, but with little modification or discussion through 2005. And here’s the kicker-Representative Billy McCoy voted FOR the funding every single time. For that matter so did most of McCoy’s current allies, Blackmon, Brown, Clark, Coleman, Evans, Flaggs, Holland, McBride, Peranich, Perkins, etc, etc.
Back then the “hospital assessment” was agreed upon by everyone and nobody was using it as a political ramrod. So what’s changed? It’s an election year and liberals are almost addicted to using Medicaid and/or education as a tool to get additional political power. Plus there’s this big boogyman sitting in the Governor Office named Haley Barbour, a former tobacco lobbyist, in case you weren’t aware.
Let these points not be lost in the debate-
#1-Democrats are putting over 600,000 Mississippian at risk by playing politics with Medicaid.
#2-They have no Plan other than taxing smokers more money which is again outside the “Call” of the Gov.
#3-Even if cigarettes were taxed fifty cents more tomorrow, liberal would provide more stalemate on who gets the extra tax dollars. Wait till you see that fight.
#4-The MHA has paid this money before, except for three years when taxpayers footed the bill by pulling the annual $90 million payment from Katrina funds.
#5-Rep. Greg Snowden’s terminology of “seed money” is a good one because the MHA gets a six to one match. How’d you like to do that with your taxes?
And finally, let’s not overlook this little bit of information. The MHA’s resumption of it’s $90 million dollar per year assessment surely must have been front and center on it’s lobbying agenda during the last round of elections when it reportedly provided campaign contributions of
$5,000.00 to Steve Holland,
$3,500.00 to Rep. George Flaggs,
$10,000.00 to Speaker McCoy and
$10,000.00 to the VPAC (Speaker’s Fund).
That’s $28,500.00!
I leave you with the wisdom on Voltaire (1764)-“In general, the art of government consists of taking as much money as possible from one party of the citizens to give to the other.”
Paul Gallo-SuperTalk
6am to 9am
www.supertalk.fm
