Now THIS is how you stamp your subjects under your boot

S

SmarterthanYou

rebel
I would never have thought that Massachussetts had these kind of cajones

Fining the unemployed and underemployed for not being able to afford health coverage. That just plain fucking kicks ass.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/02/01/a_quest_for_coverage/

The state's jobless rate has hit a 15-year high, and for the people behind the statistics, there is a special urgency. Massachusetts, unlike other states, requires nearly everyone to have health insurance - even if they have lost their job and, with it, their health coverage. Going without insurance for more than three months can result in a stiff penalty. Congress is crafting a stimulus package that would provide laid-off workers with some health coverage assistance, but for now, the state's unemployed, and underemployed, are scrambling to piece together affordable coverage. Unemployment benefits, or a spouse's income, can make recipients ineligible for health insurance assistance through the state. The hunt for coverage is challenging.
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Dungheap said:
The law in question was Romney's crowning achievement.
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wow, and here all this time I was under the impression that the legislature made laws, the gov just signed them. isn't MA a dem dominated legislature?

here is a real kicker for this wonderful state full of freedom and liberty. The fine is collected through the state income tax system. If you're fined, the system now notes that you owe taxes and will take it out of the next paycheck(s) that you get off that new job, however, in MA, when you owe taxes, your drivers license is suspended. Oh the catch 22s and ironies abound.
 
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Epicurus said:
Okay Captain Dishonesty.
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Are you serious? Here is how Romney himself describes the law in question on his PAC website:

In 2006, Governor Romney proposed and signed into law a private, market-based reform that ensures every Massachusetts citizen will have health insurance, without a government takeover and without raising taxes.
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Romney proposed it and signed it into law. What's the dispute here?
 
The bill passed 131-22 in the House and just as overwhelmingly in the Senate. It would have been impossible to veto. But anyway, I really don't want to get into a protracted, overly-semantic debate about this. My point is essentially that Mass was going to have healthcare, and Romney could either stand in the way and go down or join in and get to take credit. I'm not sure it's fair to put either the blame (or the credit, depending on your ideology) for its implementation on him exclusively.
 
Epicurus said:
The bill passed 131-22 in the House and just as overwhelmingly in the Senate. It would have been impossible to veto. But anyway, I really don't want to get into a protracted, overly-semantic debate about this. My point is essentially that Mass was going to have healthcare, and Romney could either stand in the way and go down or join in and get to take credit. I'm not sure it's fair to put either the blame (or the credit, depending on your ideology) for its implementation on him exclusively.
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I'm not putting it on him exclusively, I'm merely pointing out that is was his crowning achievement during his term as governor and that the idea for this law started from Mitt Romney.

Here's a good Boston Globe article on it:

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/06/29/ambitious_goals_shifting_stances/

Here's Mitt's Globe op-ed that was the opening salvo of his campaign to pass the bill:

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/ed...an_for_massachusetts_health_insurance_reform/


It wasn't all Mitt by any stretch (no laws are all the executive's) but it was his baby.
 
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