Gov. Gregoire Threatens a 20% Cut

On Wednesday, Gregoire threatened the state congress that if they could not come up with a plan to raise enough taxes to cover the projected $2.8 billion budget shortfall, she would start cutting state programs by 20%. Read the full story here on the KOMO site. If you read most of the comments on the article, most people seem to like the 20% cut idea. I consider that 20% cut a step in the right direction, which should be follows very quickly with another 20% cut. Unfortunately, she is only threatening to cut pet projects in order to scare the congressmen, there is little chance of actually adopting any form of fiscal responsibility on her part.

Idaho Wants Your Business

Unlike Washington and Oregon, the government of Idaho wants businesses to locate in their state. Governor Otter wrote a letter to the businesses of Washington, inviting them to relocate in Idaho to avoid the oppressive tax increases currently in the planning stages. Here’s a quote from his letter:

Businesses small and large are the backbone of Idaho’s economy. They employ our citizens, who in turn can provide for their families. Businesses and individuals also pay reasonable taxes that enable State and local governments to provide such essential services as public schools and public safety. And make no mistake: Any business that doesn’t pass along its operating costs to consumers – including their tax bills – doesn’t stay in business for long.

If the losers in Olympia would realize this, our state would become a much better place to work and do business. In the mean time, we can only hope for some change in November, or find a good real estate agent in another state, like Idaho. Read the whole letter from Governor Otter Here.

Affordable Healthcare in Rhode Island

A group of Rhode Island doctors have decided to combat the rising costs of primary healthcare with their HealthAccessRI plan. HealthAccessRI is a monthly subscription service to a primary care physician for “‘less than the cost of a cell phone, less than the cost of cable TV, less than the cost of high-speed Internet,’” according to founding doctor Michael Fine. Fine and a group of likeminded doctors have setup a system that allows for affordable doctor visits without insurance or government involvement.

HealthAccessRI solely covers access to primary care physicians and does not cover other things such as hospital stays, x-rays, or other more serious procedures. Arguing that these are the things that should be covered by the insurance companies Dr. James M. Schwartz contends:

Today’s health-care financing perverts the original concept of insurance, which was supposed to pay for catastrophes, he says. “No auto insurance sells you a plan that covers oil changes and tune-ups,” he says. The current system has also harmed primary care, Schwartz argues, by paying doctors per visit, making it financially difficult to give patients the attention they need. HealthAccessRI gives doctors a steady, predictable income to cover predictable costs.

I think that HealthAccessRI is an interesting experiment that requires further investigation. I would love to have the option to pay for such a service while holding a significantly cheaper health insurance policy which would be reserved primarily for catastrophes and things other than primary care.
You can read the full article here.
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