Saturday, October 6, 2007

Why veto a popular health-care bill?


GEORGE BUSH has some fight left in him and he has chosen a thankless battle. On Wednesday October 3rd the president vetoed legislation that would have reauthorised and expanded the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), which provides health-care insurance to more than 6m poor children.

It is a popular programme and the bill passed the House and Senate with robust bipartisan majorities. So Mr Bush’s veto—it is only his fourth—has done nothing for his public image. Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader, called the veto “heartless” and asked how the president sleeps at night. “It is incomprehensible,” said Ted Kennedy, a Democratic senator from Massachusetts. Some usually reliable allies were less melodramatic but still critical. Orrin Hatch, a conservative Republican senator from Utah, suggested that the president is receiving some bad advice. Read on @ The Economist...

4 comments:

Unknown said...

I would agree with Bush’s reason of vetoing. I would hate to see government provided nationalized health care. Sure cool people will all have healthcare but the service and medical care would suffer which I personally don’t want to give up. His [Bush’s] idea of people dropping their own private health care would be unstoppable; they would be dropping it like crazy to be getting free health care. Nationalized medical care (healthcare) = socialism = bad, very bad.

C. Blackburn said...

Mitch,so if service and medical care would suffer...why would any consumer opt for an inferior product for their children?

Unknown said...

well blackburn, they just might.
they haven't said boo about the poor state of the schools. so obviously, they don't care THAT much about kids.

Unknown said...

Blackburn, you mean for those who would drop the coverage? I think the people right above the poverty line (those who barely missed out on the health care plan Bush vetoed) would drop because if they are putting money aside for health care then they could free that cash up get the gov. provided care for free then they have all that money free put towards other things if need be towards health care that isn't provided though the vetoed plan. Just thought. Also just because its free, people like free.