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THE JACKSON HERALD
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3, 2010
Named the best weekly editorial page in the nation for 2007, 2008
Opinions
“Private opinion is weak, but public opinion is almost omnipotent. ”
- Henry Ward Beecher ~
Mike Buffington, editor • Email: Mike@mainstreetnews.com
our views
State cuts
pure politics
L ET the whining begin.
The state is trying to cut
over $1 billion in spend
ing and has at long last turned
its attention to one of its largest
expenses — the university sys
tem.
The outcome was predictable.
When asked to make cuts, state
colleges and universities played
politics, listing some of their
most popular programs to be cut
as a way of stirring up a public
backlash.
For example, among the items
proposed to be cut are the pop
ular 4-H programs across the
state.
That may help university sys
tem leaders foment some out
rage, but it does little to solve the
problem. What university sys
tem leaders really want is a tax
hike to keep their cushy status
quo jobs.
But a tax hike is untenable. The
private sector has been strug
gling for the last two years. Many
small and large businesses have
failed. Thousands of people
have lost their jobs while others
have seen pay cuts, benefit cuts
and short hours.
Through all of that, most gov
ernment employees, including
those in the university system,
have been untouchable. They
have continued as if there wasn’t
an economic crisis.
But now the decline of the
private sector has cut govern
ment revenues dramatically
and officials have to respond.
And because state leaders dil
ly-dallied around over the last
two years, the cutbacks will be
steep.
So be it. Public sector employ
ees should not be a protected
class of people who are above
the rest of us. Their jobs are no
more important than jobs in the
private sector.
The real problem is univer
sity system leaders who have
never had to set priorities in the
past and who now face mak
ing cutbacks. Their reaction has
been knee-jerk and self-serving.
In their little bubble world of
academia, making cuts is akin
to hearsay.
Get used to it. The university
system is important to Georgia,
but it isn’t sacrosanct. It, too,
must share the pain of these dif
ficult economic times.
The Jackson Herald
Founded 1875 • The Official Legal
Organ of Jackson County, Ga.
Mike Buffington Co-Publisher & Editor
Scott Buffington Co-Publisher &
Advertising Manager
News Department
Angela Gary Associate Editor
Jana Adams Mitcham Features Editor
Brandon Reed Sports Editor
Kerri Testement Reporter
Sharon Hogan Reporter
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guest column
Health care plans could have big impact on Georgia
By Cindy Zeldin
Georgians for a Healthy Future
HEALTH reform legislation currently being discussed
in Congress aims to create a pathway to health insur
ance for nearly all Americans. One of these pathways is
an expansion of Medicaid, an existing program jointly
financed by the states and the federal government that
provides health insurance to low-income families.
The Senate’s version of the Medicaid expansion
would include all Americans who earn up to 133 per
cent of the federal poverty level, or $24,352 in annual
income for a family of three. The bill recently passed
by the House of Representatives would go further,
extending Medicaid coverage to those earning up to
150 percent of the federal poverty level.
Because there are a large number of low-income,
uninsured workers in Georgia and our Medicaid eligibil
ity levels are comparatively low, this expansion could
have big implications for our state, potentially providing
a source of health insurance to a sizeable portion of
Georgia’s 1.6 million uninsured.
Georgia ranks 13th among the states in the percent of
people living below the poverty level, and an alarmingly
large share of our state’s low-income residents—about
40 percent—are uninsured. These figures are striking,
but not entirely surprising. Without major reform, near
ly every avenue to an affordable health insurance plan
is closed off to far too many of these Georgians.
Most workers obtain health insurance through an
employment-based plan as part of an overall compen
sation package. However, predominantly low-wage
firms, where low-income workers are clustered, are
less likely to offer health insurance to their employees.
Further consider that a full-time, minimum wage
worker earns just over $15,000 a year while a typi
cal family health insurance policy costs $13,000 a
year. Without an employer contribution or govern
ment subsidy, health insurance would consume nearly
Pillow talk in the
IT’S TIME for Bill and Hillary Clinton to step aside. The
hottest new couple in politics is one of Georgia’s own,
DuBose and Carol Porter.
DuBose Porter, the state leg
islator from Dublin, has already
been campaigning for several
months in the Democratic prima
ry for governor. His wife, Carol,
announced last week that she
will mn in the same primary for
lieutenant governor.
If there has ever been another
instance in Georgia or any other
state where you had a husband-
and-wife team at the top of the
same ballot, no one can remem
ber it. The Porters are break
ing new ground with this spousal
effort.
Carol Porter says she didn’t really think about running
until a couple of weeks ago, after she substituted for her
husband at a candidates’ forum and received positive
reviews for her grasp of the issues. She said she encour
aged Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond to run for
the office but did not get a commitment from him, so she
is jumping into the race.
“If you tmly want family values in Georgia, elect a
Georgia family,” DuBose Porter quipped to the gaggle of
reporters who showed up for his wife’s news conference
at the capitol.
You can hear any number of reasons from people
involved in politics as to why this may not really be such
a good idea.
They argue that Carol Porter will divert attention from
her husband’s campaign, although the two of them have
almost the same position on virtually every major issue.
She invites criticism that the dual candidacies are a
media gimmick that detracts from the seriousness of the
campaign. She dilutes the financial resources that might
be available, since every dollar spent on her campaign is
a dollar that can’t be spent on her husband’s campaign.
“I hate watching train wrecks,” said a Democratic figure
who knows both of the Porters. “It’s just going to draw
attention to the fact that he doesn’t have that same drive
to run for statewide political office that she does.”
every paycheck. This leaves many of our state’s store
clerks, cooks, janitors, and childcare workers without
adequate coverage. In fact, an estimated 700,000 adults
in Georgia who earn less than 133 percent of the fed
eral poverty level are uninsured. For this population,
Medicaid is a logical vehicle for insurance coverage
because it is an existing program designed to meet the
needs of low-income and vulnerable populations.
Many working Georgians have real unmet health
needs that could be addressed through the access
to the health system that the Medicaid program can
provide. Further, expanding Medicaid could provide a
jolt to our state’s economy by increasing demand for
medical services and supplies, prompting vendors up
and down the medical supply chain to grow and hire
more staff to meet this increased demand.
Providing coverage to thousands of currently unin
sured Georgians would require a diligent effort to enroll
the newly eligible population and additional upfront
resources in a difficult budgetary environment. In
recognition of the fiscal constraints that states face and
to lessen the financial load placed upon Georgia, the
expansion would not go into effect for a few years, and
the federal government would cover all of the costs of
covering the newly eligible population for the first two
or three years.
After that time, the federal government would pick
up between 90 and 95 percent of the cost, leaving
Georgia to pay for the remaining 5 to 10 percent. In
other words, an investment of $500 million per year
in Medicaid from the state of Georgia would trigger an
infusion of $5 billion in federal funds into Georgia’s
health care economy, benefiting not only hard-working
Georgians who currently forego needed health care,
but also the local businesses and economies that sup
ply health care services.
Our state’s policymakers should embrace this oppor
tunity to improve the health of our state’s citizens and
boost our economy.
governor’s race
All of those criticisms may be valid, and in an ordinary
election year this husband-and-wife issue might present a
problem for the Porters.
This is an unusual year in Georgia politics, however.
The crippling recession means that there’s not as much
money out there to raise from contributors. Except for
Roy Barnes and to a lesser extent John Oxendine, can
didates for all statewide offices are having a difficult time
raising any funds. During the last six months of 2009,
Barnes raised more than $2.7 million in contributions;
DuBose Porter raised a little more than $141,000, or about
5 percent of Barnes’ total.
The idea of two spouses on the same election ballot is
the kind of unusual story angle that ensures both of the
Porters will receive a lot of free media coverage - which
was the case last week, as TV news crews jammed the
capitol to cover her announcement.
With little or no money to buy TV time, it becomes
all the more important for a candidate to get as much
free coverage as possible. The Porters, who own and
operate a chain of small newspapers in Middle Georgia,
understand full well how that game is played.
DuBose Porter acknowledged this in an entry on his
campaign website: “She announced this morning at 11
a.m. and as of 6 p.m. today, Google shows there have
been 123 stories posted on her announcement, includ
ing The New York Times, The Huffington Post, The Los
Angeles Times and The Washington Post.”
He knows that the unprecedented combination of a
married couple mnning for high office will be an irresist
ible story for cable TV shows as well as print newspa
pers.
You can bet that the Porters will soon be appearing on
the air with such cable personalities as Larry King, Oprah
Winfrey, Keith Olbermann, Joy Behar, and Bill O’Reilly.
That coverage won’t cost them a penny and will help
them get their names out in front of ordinary Georgians
in a way that no other candidate can match.
Both of the Porters are underdogs in their political
races, but in a weird year like this one, who knows? Free
media coverage may keep a candidate - or candidates -
in contention.
Tom Crawford is the editor of The Georgia Report. He
can be reached at tcrawford@caDitolimDact. net.
The Nicholson
fuss continues —
and other follies
Y OU have to hand it to
Nicholson leaders, they
know how to stir up more
useless debate than just about any
town in the area.
Last week,
the city
council
argued
over how
much to
spend on
new library
books
this year.
Mayor
Ronnie
Maxwell
wanted
around
$25,000
for new
books, say
ing the city was behind on book
replacement.
Which of course begs the question:
Why? Where was the mayor these
last four years and why did he let the
city get so far behind?
But the book issue is minor com
pared to other things. For one, it
appears that the city council held
an illegal meeting with the librarian
recently to discuss the book budget.
Will Jackson County’s towns ever
learn? Illegal government meetings
do nothing to engender public sup
port. Governments that do business
in secret have something to hide and
the public knows it.
The mayor also suggested that
plans to upgrade the appearance of
the library on the inside didn’t need
to be budgeted because that would
come from SPLOST money.
Really? After all of the abuse of
SPLOST dollars locally, the mayor
really thinks voters are going to
give him more money to play with?
Advice: Don’t count your dollars
before they’re in the bank.
But the biggest issue in Nicholson
is that it’s now March 3; why wasn’t
the town’s 2010 budget planned and
adopted before the start of the year?
Nicholson, like a lot of area towns,
is dysfunctional. Instead of serving
the public interest, town leaders are
pursuing their own interests.
Too bad citizens don’t seem to give
a darn.
President Obama came to Georgia
this week. Is your life better?
Didn’t think so.
Speaking of the president, his
obsessive push to have the govern
ment take over health care in the
country is fomenting a major back
lash. Such top-down mandates is
not what the public wants; the public
wants some measure of control over
costs and to rein in abusive insurance
firms, but it does not want bureau
crats in charge of health care.
The jobless rate in Georgia hit a
new high last month. Those who
claim the recession is over are look
ing at the world through rose-colored
glasses. The recession won’t be over
until the jobless rate comes down
and that won’t happen until business
es start hiring. But businesses aren’t
going to hire with all the instability in
government and on Wall Street.
The next big threat is inflation due
to the massive federal deficit that
Washington has chosen to ignore.
JOKE OF THE DAY: The IOC this
week took back American Olympic
skier Lindsay Vonn’s gold medal and
gave it to President Obama. The rea
son? He is going downhill faster than
Vonn.
Mike Buffington is editor of The
Jackson Herald. He can be reached
at mike@mainstreetnews.com.