Pay-As-You-Go proposal for the public option
Submitted by old yeller on Wed, 10/21/2009 - 9:32pm
I live in Black Mountain where (semi-D) Heath Shuler is the congressman for this Congressional district. The ol' Quarterback (recipient of of 130k in health care industry donations)has stated his opposition to a Public Option because it "is not deficit neutral." That seems to be politico speak for giving himself a rationale for voting against health care reform.
It's a facile argument for someone who is more than willing to support whatever American militarism the previous administration proposed but, hey if that floats his navy is fine with me. So my modest proposal is to have Congress pass a war surtax on the profits of the suppliers from Lockheed-Martin to Haliburton to the bomb makers, the bullet makers, the Humvees, KBR ect, etc., etc., any corporation which makes a profit feeding the war machine. The US is now in the phase of imperialism where a country wages perpetually so lets let those war profits work for everyone.
The monies realized from this surtax would then be used to fund the public option. What a win-win, war is waged, public health is underwritten. Then, maybe then, the absurdity of war will be confronted for real. Until then, Congressman Shuler this is how to make the public option deficit neutral.
I thought you were going to call for wars
to be deficit neutral, too. And now that I think of it, the idea has appeal. Congressman Shuler would then have to put his money where his mouth is when it comes to the Great American Imperial War Machine.
Deficit neutral. In the case of Congressman C-Street Shuler, it's more like intellect neutral.
Do good. Be nice. Have fun.