Somebody should put a call into SWAT. Gov. Ed Rendell is planning to take hostages again.
Rendell is threatening to withhold state aid to help doctors pay for malpractice insurance unless the Legislature approves the governor's plan to offer government-subsidized health insurance for the state's 800,000 uninsured residents.
Rendell's "Cover All Pennsylvanians" proposal has been languishing in the Legislature since the governor first floated the idea in February. Lawmakers refuse to consider Rendell's 3-percent payroll tax on employers who do not provide health insurance to fund health coverage for the uninsured.
Rendell always has something up his sleeve. When the Legislature balked at leasing the Pennsylvania Turnpike to a private company to help raise money to bail out mass transit, Rendell went to Plan B: Making Interstate 80 a toll road.
The governor now wants the Legislature to use part of the projected $500 million surplus in the state's medical malpractice fund (known as MCare) to pay for the uninsured. That won't cover all the costs of providing health coverage to 800,000 people. The rest of the money would come from an additional 10-cents-a-pack tax on cigarettes and taxing cigars and smokeless tobacco.
This is not the first time Rendell has threatened to hold hostages to get his way. He did it earlier this year when he threatened state workers. And we all know how well that worked out.
It just five months ago when Rendell and the Legislature could not agree on a $27 billion General Fund budget for the 2007-08 fiscal year, which began July 1.
Rendell's bargaining chip was 24,000 "non-essential" state workers. Rendell went ahead with the furlough, but when the Legislature wouldn't budge and public sentiment turned against Rendell, he brought the workers back the next day (and ended up paying them for the extra vacation day). That little stunt cost Pennsylvania taxpayers about $3 million.
As I said back in July when I wrote about Rendell's bully tactics, when you take hostages, you have to be prepared to follow through with the threat to harm them. Rendell blinked on the furlough of state workers and lost the fight over the budget. He didn't get his health insurance plan or any of the $2.5 billion in new or expanded taxes Rendell wanted to include in the 2007-08 budget.
Taking the state's doctors hostage is an even dumber move on the governor's part. Unlike state workers, doctors have more resources at their disposal. They are a powerful lobbying group that can do a lot of harm to politicians. Doctors like having the state pick up part of their malpractice payments and are not going to give it up without a fight.
Rendell and the lockstep Democrats in the House have overreached several times in 2007. Pennsylvania residents want lower taxes, not more taxes and expanded government control of health care, transportation and energy.
In a story published by the Allentown Morning-Call, state Rep. Mike Sturla, a Democrat from Lancaster County, was quoted as saying he is willing to shake down Pennsylvania taxpayers even more to get the governor’s initiatives passed.
"I don't care if we stand people on their heads and shake pennies from their pockets," Sturla said. "All I want to do is make sure Pennsylvanians have access to health care in a reasonable, rational manner."
What a pleasant site. Rendell and Sturla holding an elderly Pennsylvania taxpayer upside down and shaking him until every penny falls out of his pocket.
Ask Sturla's constituents in Lancaster County if they'd like to pay more in taxes to people in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh can get health insurance. I think not.
Sturla may have talked his way out of a job when he faces re-election next year.
Let's say Rendell gets enough votes in the Legislature to raid the MCare fund.
Rendell is notorious for spending every dime that comes his way. What happens when the MCare fund is drained down to zero?
Where will Rendell get the money to replenish the MCare fund? The basic economic concept that Rendell has operated under is "Robbing Peter to Pay Paul."
Peter is tired of giving and Paul is in no mood to give anything back.
Tony Phyrillas
Tony Phyrillas is a columnist for The Mercury in Pottstown, Pa. He received a first place award for Best Opinion Column in 2007 by Suburban Newspapers of America. He was also honored for column writing in 2006 by the Society of Professional Journalists.
Copyright © 2005-2008, THE CENTRIST Blog; All Rights Reserved.
Rendell is threatening to withhold state aid to help doctors pay for malpractice insurance unless the Legislature approves the governor's plan to offer government-subsidized health insurance for the state's 800,000 uninsured residents.
Rendell's "Cover All Pennsylvanians" proposal has been languishing in the Legislature since the governor first floated the idea in February. Lawmakers refuse to consider Rendell's 3-percent payroll tax on employers who do not provide health insurance to fund health coverage for the uninsured.
Rendell always has something up his sleeve. When the Legislature balked at leasing the Pennsylvania Turnpike to a private company to help raise money to bail out mass transit, Rendell went to Plan B: Making Interstate 80 a toll road.
The governor now wants the Legislature to use part of the projected $500 million surplus in the state's medical malpractice fund (known as MCare) to pay for the uninsured. That won't cover all the costs of providing health coverage to 800,000 people. The rest of the money would come from an additional 10-cents-a-pack tax on cigarettes and taxing cigars and smokeless tobacco.
This is not the first time Rendell has threatened to hold hostages to get his way. He did it earlier this year when he threatened state workers. And we all know how well that worked out.
It just five months ago when Rendell and the Legislature could not agree on a $27 billion General Fund budget for the 2007-08 fiscal year, which began July 1.
Rendell's bargaining chip was 24,000 "non-essential" state workers. Rendell went ahead with the furlough, but when the Legislature wouldn't budge and public sentiment turned against Rendell, he brought the workers back the next day (and ended up paying them for the extra vacation day). That little stunt cost Pennsylvania taxpayers about $3 million.
As I said back in July when I wrote about Rendell's bully tactics, when you take hostages, you have to be prepared to follow through with the threat to harm them. Rendell blinked on the furlough of state workers and lost the fight over the budget. He didn't get his health insurance plan or any of the $2.5 billion in new or expanded taxes Rendell wanted to include in the 2007-08 budget.
Taking the state's doctors hostage is an even dumber move on the governor's part. Unlike state workers, doctors have more resources at their disposal. They are a powerful lobbying group that can do a lot of harm to politicians. Doctors like having the state pick up part of their malpractice payments and are not going to give it up without a fight.
Rendell and the lockstep Democrats in the House have overreached several times in 2007. Pennsylvania residents want lower taxes, not more taxes and expanded government control of health care, transportation and energy.
In a story published by the Allentown Morning-Call, state Rep. Mike Sturla, a Democrat from Lancaster County, was quoted as saying he is willing to shake down Pennsylvania taxpayers even more to get the governor’s initiatives passed.
"I don't care if we stand people on their heads and shake pennies from their pockets," Sturla said. "All I want to do is make sure Pennsylvanians have access to health care in a reasonable, rational manner."
What a pleasant site. Rendell and Sturla holding an elderly Pennsylvania taxpayer upside down and shaking him until every penny falls out of his pocket.
Ask Sturla's constituents in Lancaster County if they'd like to pay more in taxes to people in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh can get health insurance. I think not.
Sturla may have talked his way out of a job when he faces re-election next year.
Let's say Rendell gets enough votes in the Legislature to raid the MCare fund.
Rendell is notorious for spending every dime that comes his way. What happens when the MCare fund is drained down to zero?
Where will Rendell get the money to replenish the MCare fund? The basic economic concept that Rendell has operated under is "Robbing Peter to Pay Paul."
Peter is tired of giving and Paul is in no mood to give anything back.
Tony Phyrillas
Tony Phyrillas is a columnist for The Mercury in Pottstown, Pa. He received a first place award for Best Opinion Column in 2007 by Suburban Newspapers of America. He was also honored for column writing in 2006 by the Society of Professional Journalists.
Copyright © 2005-2008, THE CENTRIST Blog; All Rights Reserved.
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