Wednesday, April 5, 2017

We Can Go Our Own Way on Healthcare

The big fuckin' deal in local news today is the passage by the state assembly of a bill authorizing the creation of a single-payer health insurance system for New Yorkers, a bill which passed 89-47. The big hurdle that single-payer has to clear is the state senate, which is bogged down by a power-sharing agreement between the GOP and these shitbirds. I'm hoping that enough upstate residents will be motivated to contact their GOP representatives to pressure them to vote for a single-payer system.

I have health insurance through my job, but I wouldn't mind being a participant in a 'Medicare for all New Yorkers' type system. We New Yorkers pay pretty high state taxes, and the services we receive tend to be high-quality. Given the absolute disaster that is the federal government, I would prefer to rely more on the state and local governments. I've had enough of reading the various 'Heartland Whisperer' narratives, and I sure as hell have had enough of having good governance held hostage by the GOP knuckle-draggers that the Heartlanders tend to elect... it's about time New York and other blue states went ahead and passed the liberal legislation that we need in-state. If the federal government decides to throw monkey wrenches into the works, it'll be a Tenth Amendment issue, and with any luck, the SCotUS will be in disarray for months to come, thus forestalling a legal battle.

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