Raising taxes means savings?


Good intentions means fewer results as government social program repeats usual pattern
Just noting this one in passing.

Welcome to the Pine Tree state, where a program that the governor claims has saved the state millions of dollars means that your taxes go . . . up. Maine is the home of Democratic Gov. John Baldacci's Dirigo Health, which regulates the state's health-care system and includes a subsidized health-insurance program. (Dirigo is the state's motto, Latin for "I lead.") When the law creating Dirigo Health was signed, proponents said it would reduce cost-shifting and health-system costs and ultimately cover all 130,000 uninsured Mainers within five years, including 31,000 uninsured in year one.

It hasn't worked out that way. Through the first nine months only 1,600 previously uninsured individuals enrolled in Dirigo Health's insurance product, called DirigoChoice. The other 6,000 who enrolled simply traded their private health insurance for taxpayer-subsidized DirigoChoice. The program continues to spend millions subsidizing insurance for those already insured.

Notice the pattern here. Poor not getting "essential" service, massive government program introduced, marginal poor and not quite so marginal poor move from private sector service to "free" public sector service, price of public program skyrockets, not enough resources to cover promises of original program. Result, higher taxes, fewer private sector options, and most of the poor who were targeted by the original program still aren't receiving services.

This is a repeating pattern at all levels of government.

The usual solution is to throw more money at the problem and hope it goes away.

— NeoWayland

Posted: Thu - February 16, 2006 at 04:41 PM  Tag


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