As is my wont, the more I look at the proposed 1/2-cent sales tax increase to fund medical care for the working poor, the more fuddled I become. I'm agree that SOMETHING must be done about healthcare. We're sinking, and decent healthcare has become a fantasy for way too many people, to the severe detriment of us all. When the revolution comes and folks of my ilk are sent to the fields (or just lined up against the wall), I suspect that several generations of "healthcare only for the wealthy" will be a major factor in the mob's wrath. Make no mistake, Madame DeFarge is knitting even as we speak...
BUUUUUTT, I also am not convinced that a local sales-tax increase is the right solution to the problem. The proposal, if passed, would give Escambia County the highest sales tax in the state. This seems counter-productive, given the disproportionate impact of sales taxes on those whose budgetary margins are very low, i.e., the working poor, who are the people that the tax is intended to benefit in the first place. The fact that this essentially amounts to a tax subsidy for Baptist Healthcare doesn't rub me the right way either. And I don't believe that the actions of one county will make a whit of a difference in insurance rates, which seems to be an implied argument of the Access Escambia crowd.
So, where does that leave me? As I said before, I'm fuddled. But I can safely say that my previously-reported bent toward supporting this proposal has now reversed, and I am more likely to vote against it. I hope to see more information and debate about this proposal in the two weeks we have left before the vote.
UPDATE: Rick Outzen advises that the Independent News (www.inweekly.net) will run a story on May 21st about this proposal.
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