House Republicans' Medicaid argument ignores logic

Not long ago, I was invited to be a judge in a middle school debate.

Some of the kids were nervous, some got sidetracked and some clammed up. Yet for all their jitters, giggles, anxiety and backtracking, the entire morning felt true.

No matter how they looked while presenting their case, they had done their research and came across with absolute sincerity while making their arguments.

In other words, they looked nothing like your legislators in the Florida House of Representatives.

This week's debate on the expansion of Medicaid funds was stunning for its obfuscation, bombast and sheer nonsense.

By sticking to their pretend war with the federal government, House Republicans are shamelessly snubbing minimum wage-type workers as well as endangering the financial well-being of state hospitals.

Who's on board with House Republicans?

Not the Republican governor. He wants to expand Medicaid. Not Republican senators. They're considering a plan that would incorporate federal money. Not hospital administrators. Not the Chamber of Commerce. Not independent studies done by both the University of Florida and Georgetown University. Not the most recent polls.

(Fun fact: Rep. Ed Hooper, R-Clearwater, voted against accepting federal funds on Thursday. Did you know residents in Hooper's district voted in support of Obamacare in a constitutional amendment last fall?)

(To read the entire article, click here.)

Pinellas Democrats'

Summer Beach Party 

Hosted by Alden Suites on St. Pete Beach

The Real I.R.S. Scandal

By SHEILA KRUMHOLZ and ROBERT WEINBERGER

NEWS that employees at the Internal Revenue Service targeted groups with “Tea Party” or “patriot” in their name for special scrutiny has raised pious alarms among some lawmakers and editorial writers.

Yes, the I.R.S. may have been worse than clumsy in considering an avalanche of applications for nonprofit status under the tax code, and that deserves scrutiny whether or not the agency's employees were spurred by partisan motives. After all, some of these “tea party” groups are most likely not innocent nonprofit organizations devoted to the cultural significance of hot beverages — or to other, more civic, virtues. Rather, they and others are groups that may be illegally spending a majority of their resources on political activity while manipulating the tax code to hide their donors and evade taxes (the unwritten rule being that no more than 49 percent of a group's resources can be used for political purposes).

(To read the entire article, click here.)

FL Dems Congratulate Incoming House Dem Leader Rep. Darryl Rouson

Tallahassee – Florida Democratic Party Chairwoman Allison Tant congratulated incoming House Democratic Leader Rep. Darryl Rouson who was elected today to lead Democrats for 2014-2016.

“Tonight, Democrats elected a fighter for middle class families to lead House Democrats over the next few years. I congratulate Rep. Darryl Rouson on his victory and look forward to working together to hold Republicans accountable for their wrong priorities, which have wasted our tax dollars on handouts to corporate special interests and failed to invest in Florida's education system.”

 

 

House members say yes to cheap health insurance — for themselves

Florida House Republicans last month loudly and proudly rejected billions of dollars in federal money that would have provided health insurance to 1 million poor Floridians.

Quietly, they kept their own health insurance premiums staggeringly low. House members will pay just $8.34 a month for state-subsidized health care next year, or $30 a month to cover their entire family.

That's one-sixth of what state senators and most state employees will pay, and one-tenth of the cost to the average private-sector worker, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

(To read the entire article, click here.)

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