[GPSCC-chat] Vermont Single-Payer and Other Issues

[alexcathy at aol.com]

Dear Green Friends, 

Just followed a link on Facebook to a short piece on Vermont's move to establish the first statewide single-payer healthcare system.  

from Thom Hartmann's radio show


"Vermont is one step-closer to becoming the first state to set up a truly universal, single-payer health care system. The Vermont Senate passed the new healthcare bill yesterday - following in the footsteps of the state House that passed the bill last month. Now - it just needs to be signed into law by Governor Peter Shumlin who's already expressed his support for the measure. There IS one last step though - Vermont would need to secure a waiver to opt out of Obamacare in order to build its own healthcare system.

"A handful of lawmakers have introduced legislation to allow states - in particular Vermont - to drop out of Obamacare if they prove they can cover just as many people with insurance as the law would have without adding to the deficit. But surprise, surprise, Republicans don't like the idea. That's right - after bashing Obamacare for 2 years - they don't want to let states drop out of it. What happened to their whole "state's rights" platform - does that only apply to stuff like abortion and gay marriage - and not to giving people free healthcare? The truth is - Republicans are trembling at thought of Vermont having a single-payer healthcare system to serve as a model for other states. Canada's single-payer healthcare system started in just one province - Saskatchewan - and then spread across the country because people in other provinces demanded it.

"Republicans fear that the same thing is likely to happen in the United States and they'll do anything they can to stop it in Vermont. They don't care about sick people - they care about profits for their buddies - the millionaire private health insurance executives."



If tiny Vermont can do this, then great big California surely can.  With 40 million people and a $1.85 trillion economy, California Greens can lead California to lead America on this and other hot popular issues like local sustainable economics, green jobs, nuclear power, a state bank, and the "War on Drugs," election reform, and campaign reform. 

I am sorry that I have to be in Washington and I'll miss the state plenary. I pray we don't get hung up on symbolic issues, events on the other side of the world, and our dearly beloved internal intrigues.  I pray that we focus on our issues.  Stay focused, people. Stay focused.  

The Bush - Schwarzenegger Republicans have failed California.  
The Clinton - Davis and Obama - Brown Democrats have failed California. 

Our time is now. . 


Alex Walker 


-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.cagreens.org/pipermail/sosfbay-discuss_lists.cagreens.org/attachments/20110428/1c33f4f3/attachment.html>