Why Do Republicans Hate Children?

*edited 9/25/07, 11:00pm. Edits between # #. — Jenn

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Michael Leavitt, the Secretary of Health and Human Services*, was on C-Span’s Washington Journal today. I somehow managed to listen to his blather, for a few minutes, until the urge to vomit overwhelmed me. Of course, that might just have been the stomach flu…

One of the talking points repeated over and over and over ad nauseum was the $80,000 figure. As in, “OH MY GOD, they want people making up to $80,000¹ (or 400% of the federal poverty level) to get FREE GOVERNMENT HEALTH CARE²!!”

¹ Wrong. The $80K figure came from New York State’s request #to expand its program# which was denied – and which would still be denied under the new SCHIP bill.

The SCHIP bill currently under consideration would insure children in families living at 200% of the federal poverty level (or $40,000 (pre-tax) for a family of four) who do not have access to, or cannot afford, private health insurance.

² And wrong again. This isn’t “government health care”. The government isn’t going to be opening clinics and running hospitals and giving kids their immunizations. This is government-paid health insurance.

Leavitt also blathered a bit about how this program was going to allow people who already had private insurance to get public health insurance, etc. etc.

Hmmm…

Can someone name a public, open to anyone regardless of income, government-sponsored program believed by the government to be necessary for our nation’s future and security, in which the government doesn’t actually provide the service rendered?

Indeed. Public education, folks.

Using the Bush misAdministration rationales for vetoing SCHIP, all those making more than 200% of the federal poverty level will be required to enroll their children in private school, at their own cost. If you can’t afford private school, well that’s just tough noogies. Your child will go uneducated.

I can see the future of education under the Bush Plan:

[[wavy lines with eerie "wee-doo, wee-doo" music signifying dream sequence]]