Funding a Main Obstacle to Health Reform in California
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) "would be a superhero if he found an honest way to pay for" his health care reform plan, which seeks to expand health insurance coverage to all California residents, columnist Debra Saunders writes in the San Francisco Chronicle.
Writing that "GOP lawmakers are irrelevant" in California, Saunders calls for Democratic legislators and Schwarzenegger to cooperate on a measure that would increase gasoline or sales taxes to cover the cost of providing universal coverage in California. Saunders adds that such a move would ensure that all state residents share the cost of the program and "have a stake in the new program."
Saunders concludes, "California should have a new motto: If it is worth having, it is worth paying for. Not: We always want more something for nothing" (Saunders, San Francisco Chronicle, 7/8).