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By Jon Coupal
If these United States are 50 laboratories of democracy, then California is the mad scientist of far-left policies. That was evident last week as some of the session’s most controversial bills tried to clear the Assembly and continue through the legislative process.
From a bill to impose “sector-wide minimum standards” for wages, hours and working conditions at fast-food chains (that unfortunately passed the Assembly and now heads to the Senate) to forcing owners of rent-controlled apartment buildings to stay in that business for at least five years — even if they were losing money (that fortunately failed to garner enough support), the Legislature’s radicalism was on full display. But those measure were small potatoes compared to Assembly Bill 1400, which would have required the state to provide health care coverage for residents, after abolishing all private health insurance and Medicare.
Fortunately, AB 1400 also failed to get enough support in the Assembly to move on, but we’re likely to see it again. The state’s Democratic Party has added single-payer health care to its platform, and the Progressive Caucus of the California Democratic Party has vowed not to endorse any candidate that opposes single-payer health care.
That’s why it’s important to make clear why such a proposal should never be considered again. First, the taxes necessary to implement such a program would be astronomical. The author of AB 1400 proposed raising taxes by $163 billion dollars a year, but the actual cost could be upwards of $391 billion per year, according to the staff report from the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
To read the entire column, please click here.
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