Well-funded liberal activist and Democrat candidate for governor Cathy Glasson is staking her campaign on a radical government-run takeover of healthcare, with The Gazette reporting that Glasson is launching a six-figure TV ad buy to promote the plan. It’s further evidence that the Democrat primary is taking a hard left turn.
Now that a candidate has taken to the airwaves to propose a healthcare takeover that could cost Iowa taxpayers over $12 billion, it’s time for other Iowa Democrat gubernatorial candidates – including Fred Hubbell and Nate Boulton – to take a stand. Do Hubbell and Boulton support a $12 billion tax hike on hardworking Iowa families? If so, which taxes are they willing to raise?
Iowa voters don’t want a government takeover of healthcare and a reckless tax hike on top of it. Hubbell and Boulton owe voters an answer.
Des Moines Register: Democrat Cathy Glasson Says Governor's Office a "Natural Fit" For Her
Glasson is positioning herself in the race as a “bold progressive.” On a number of issues, she rips off the bandage instead of adopting the cautious, incremental steps that some of the more experienced politicians in the field have proposed. For example, she says Iowa should implement a “Medicare for all” style of universal health care, even if the federal government doesn’t participate.
“A public option should be available for every Iowan. Should the federal government do that? Yes, but I don’t think we’re going to see that,” she said.
Her idea of how to pay for a public health-care expansion of that magnitude is vague. She pointed to a Department of Revenue estimate that state tax credits and exemptions totaled more than $12 billion in 2010. “Now, does that cover it all? I don’t know yet,” she said. “We won’t know until we explore the cost of the health care coverage for our people, but we need to look at that.”
Increasing state spending by $12 billion would raise the total cost of state government by about 60 percent. And that $12 billion in tax credits she suggests getting rid of isn’t just big breaks for corporations — it’s all the small exemptions for homeowners, pensioners, charitable contributions and more.
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