How the heck did I miss this? At the end of the State House News Service’s email bulletin was this gem:
The notion of raising taxes on businesses who can afford to providehealth coverage, but don’t, earned overwhelming support: 66 to 29percent. [my emphasis] But [SHNS pollster] Chervinsky cautioned: "Citizens almost always embracebusiness taxes without realizing the direct impact that has on thempersonally. One of the problems with sampling public opinion is thatpeople are inclined to say, ‘Sure go ahead, tax ’em,’ without taking intoaccount all the implications. The citizenry is a littleunrealistic."
Dear Mr. Chervinsky:
- "…without considering the direct impact on them personally"? Do you have any idea why this is such a hot issue right now? Maybe because this issue affects so many of us personally? Can you imagine?
- "Unrealistic?" Look, thinking that the current situation is OK is unrealistic in the extreme. Maybe we’re just fed up, and think businesses should pay their fair share.
I’ve said it before: If businesses don’t like the assessment for helping to cover their employees, they need to get with the single-payer bandwagon and start pushing. Stop your bitching and help us fix the problem.
(Thanks to the Healthy Blog for the catch. Duh.)
Or maybe just the universal purchase mandate!