Gather ’round children, and I’ll tell you another “Perry Tale” But I must warn you: this one is really, really scary, so hold on to each other.
It’s about Rick Perry, the swaggering Texas governor who wants very, very much to be the Republican nominee for President. So, to get Republican primary voters to like him, he has been riding all across the country on a big horse he calls “Money,” claiming that he will save people everywhere by shooting down the horror of “Romneycare.” What’s that you ask? It’s the Massachusetts health insurance plan developed by Ramblin’ Rick’s presidential rival, Mitt Romney. Why is it dangerous? Because, explains Perry, it is “the model for socialized medicine.” Big bad government should not be involved in health care, he shouts at Republican rallies, declaring that the sainted free market is the best provider of insurance. That’s how we do it in Texas, he brags, and – here comes the scary part – I’ll bring the Texas model to all of America.
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Hoo-boy, that would not be nice… or healthy. Under Perrycare, more than six million Texans (including 1.3 million children) are left with no health coverage at all – the highest rate of uninsured residents in the country. Also, the price that people must pay for insurance has nearly doubled under Perry’s reign, and he has slashed state spending and curbed eligibility for programs to help hard-hit families get health services, including cutting 200,000 Texas children out of a program to assure that low-income youngsters get health care.
So, children, beware of yee-hawing Texas politicos spreading tales of free-market miracles. Texans themselves find nothing miraculous about Perrycare, referring to it as the Yo Yo plan: You’re On Your Own.
Luckily, though, people can write their own happy ending to this scary Perry Tale: just don’t vote for him.
“Few Bright Spots in Perry’s Health Care Record,” The New York Times,” September 30, 2011.
“Uncovering Perry’s ill state,” Austin American Statesman, September 27, 2011.
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