To the Editor:
Councilmember Tim Lovain’s “We Must Help Alexandria’s Uninsured with Healthcare Costs” brings to mind Lord Woodhouselee’s dictum, “Democracy will last ‘til the people realize they can vote themselves benefits from the public treasury.”
A dollop for this group and a dollop for that special interest and you hope you’ve doled out enough dollops from City Council’s egregious tax increases to turn them out at election time to keep you in office.
Obamacare, written by the healthcare and insurance industries, of course, could not guarantee every American health insurance — health insurance for all is called “Berniecare.” likely would cost taxpayers more than Bernie realizes, and isn’t particularly profitable for the health insurance industry.
Obamacare’s dirty little secret is the ethically odious medical devices tax which, in part, finances it, including even if indirectly, expanded Medicaid in the 31 states accepting it. The 19 states, including Virginia, which have not, free up funding so that eventually the medical devices tax can be repealed.
Meanwhile, as living pattern preferences change to draw higher-income residents closer to the urban core, more needy residents will be displaced to the far ‘burbs, reducing their numbers here, while high-end housing developments sufficiently augment our tax base that a small subsidy, like what Councilmember Lovain’s letter describes, will suffice to provide Alexandria’s remaining uninsured with basic healthcare.
Dino Drudi
Alexandria