Sunday, September 30, 2007

Tiahrt votes against children’s health insurance

Rep. Todd Tiahrt has voted against a State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIO) that was passed I Congress recently. His opposition, according to The Wichita Eagle, on Sept. 26, was that the SCHIO ‘rejected free market principles.’ This is just another way of saying he favors the health insurance industry over government guarantees of health.
Every time a pro-business congressperson, who gets huge campaign contributions for lobbyist, has to vote against the welfare of the people in his own district, they talk of the magical hand of the free market.
How do the free marketers explain how “flipping houses,” ( a speculative venture of buying houses, fixing them a little, then reselling them for a quick profit), has driven the price of housing so high that more people than ever can’t afford a home. Unlike speculating on gold (which most people can live without) or stocks which don’t affect individuals directly, houses need people to move in an live in them. Otherwise they eventually become useless.
A letter writer to The Wichita Eagle (Sept.30) outlined other examples of problems caused by an unregulated “free market” including mortgage banking rates going through the roof. But Tiahrt is a business man there to make himself rich, not for the welfare of US citizens.



No comments: