Observations from the Minnesota State Fair
This morning I went to the Minnesota State Fair to help man a literature booth as a favor to the Minnesota Taxpayers League. A few observations:

CAPITALISM LIVES. This was evident, of course, in the various and sundry peddlers who were hawking warm winter clothing, hunting blinds, jewelry, furniture, and two dozen varieties of "food on a stick." I found it in a more unusual place: the Green Party was selling buttons, for $1 each. At our booth, on the other hand, we were handing buttons -- "I am a taxpayer watchdog"--gratis.

DON'T CONFUSE ME WITH THE FACTS. One of our displays showed that the top 5 employers in Minnesota had gone from industrial stalwarts (Honeywell, 3M, etc.) to various levels of government (state government, federal government, etc.) For one passer-by, that was just too much. "State government? No way." I gave her a puzzled look, as if to say "Oh? Why do you say that? What about this chart do you dispute?" She continued: "I work for the state." Oh sure. That settles that!

DON'T TAX ME. TAX THAT GUY. One man muttered that it was wrong to have balanced the recent budget without raising rates on the top 5 percent of taxpayers. Easy for him to say, I thought. Tax someone else. Of course, if he thinks that the state does need more money, he can always donate money.

CONGRESSIONAL PLOY BACKFIRES. A staffer for Senator Mark Dayton (Democrat) was collecting signatures in support a proposal to "make the prescription drug benefits that Congress gets equal to that received by people on Medicare." Of course, it's a ploy; there is no prescription drug benefit in Medicare, and the call has a populist ring to it.

Despite the fact that it was going to be a fool's errand, I talked with the staffer. I told her that it would be great of people had the same health benefits as Congress--if the Federal Employees Health Benefit Program (FEHBP) was used as a model. I asked what Dayton thought of that. Naturally, the staffer averred that the senator hadn't taken a position on that. Or something. The FEHBP isn't perfect, but it does use a dose of competition among insurance providers--something that would greatly benefit Medicare, something that would make the inclusion of a drug benefit sustainable, even worthwhile.

Labels: Health care

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