In his Feb. 26 column, “Dallas rip-offs, Gregoire’s plans and a February flop,” John Laird doesn’t understand why “less-government advocates” aren’t “delirious with glee” that “60,000 low-income working adults in our state have lost state-subsidized health coverage” and “more than 46,000 woman have lost family planning services” since the beginning of the most recent recession. Sorry to disabuse him, but no Republican Party or Tea Party member I know takes joy in the suffering or misfortune of others, especially the needy.
What’s odd about Laird’s comment is that the state budget for the last several years has been controlled by “big government” Democrats. From the governor on down, they call the shots and set the budget priorities. So, why isn’t Laird blaming them for what has happened?
Laird also conveniently forgets to mention that Washington state spending has actually increased since the beginning of the most recent recession, from $28.2 billion in 2007 to $35.4 billion (estimated) in 2011, and the portion dedicated to health care has gone from $7.6 billion to $9.1 billion. (Source: http://www.usgovernmentspending.com.) So, why then have so many low-income working adults and women lost their state-subsidized coverage?
Maybe next time, Laird will try to enlighten us, rather than take some political cheap shot.
