Ballot Inititive Proposition 1 (Bangor, Union, Washington: health insurance, pros and cons, taxi)

[elston]

I am looking for information about the ballot initative Proposition 1. I can tell by the advertisements against the proposition that it has to do with taxes on soft drinks and beverages and small business owners oppose it.

What I can't find out is whether the revenues would be dedicated toward a specific purpose or unmet need. Would the funds generated be for the general fund or dedicated for a specific purpose?

I am hopeful that my thread won't start an ideological soap box about the nature of government and taxes in general.....but will provide useful and specific information about the rationale and purpose for the tax (Proposition 1) and the potential harm. I guess I am looking for the type of information that The League of Women Voters sometimes provides, a dispassionate presentation of the pros and cons for a piece of legislation.

[Submariner]

Maine Repeal Dirigo Tax Referendum (2008) - Ballotpedia

The Governor's Dirigo Tax bill was voted in at the end of the legislative session. This is a veto referendum intended to keep it from becoming law. The bill will raise over $100 million for the Dirigo Health Choices program by taxing beverages and doctor's fees. Of the current 12,637 enrollees in the program only about 4500 were not previously insured. The tax package includes a new $4 tax on a gallon of syrup used to make soda in restaurants; a new 42-cent-per-gallon tax on bottled soft drinks, and, a doubling of the current tax on beer and wine, to 54 cents a gallon on beer and 65 cents a gallon on wine. The package also includes a 1.8 percent tax on claims paid by insurance companies and the self-insured to replace a similar fee that supports DirigoChoice insurance today

Writing in the Kennebec Journal, July 24th edition, staff writer Matthew Stone reports on the disparity between funding for pro Repeal and anti-repeal advocates. He points out that before the May, 28th reporting date the opponents to Repeal Dirigo received funding mainly form one private source, while Fed Up With Taxes is funded by a heavy beverage industry coalition including Coke and McDonalds. He points out while they complain about Fed Up With Taxes out of state funding, the principle opponent, Health Coverage for Maine, received the bulk of their contributions from the Washington, D.C.-based Service Employees International Union.

Former legislator Tom Sawyer, in a July 10, 2008, editorial in the Bangor News, said, "For over-reaching politicians to take even more of your hard-earned wages and throw it away on a failed program is wrong..."

July 21, 2008 - Fed Up With Taxes now reports 80% of the 90,000 signatures filed have been certified as valid. Awaiting Governor Baldacci's decision to possibly recall legislature to review the petition and put it to a vote.

Fed Up With Taxes filed petitions with Maine's Secretary of State on July 17, 2008. They turned in over 90,000 signatures, far surpassing the 55,087 needed to place the veto referendum on the November 2008 ballot. The Secretary of State's office has two weeks to review the petition before certifying it for inclusion on the ballot.

Status

July 21, 2008 - Fed Up With Taxes now reports 80% of the 90,000 signatures filed have been certified as valid. Awaiting Governor Baldacci's decision to possibly recall legislature to review the petition and put it to a vote.

Fed Up With Taxes filed petitions with Maine's Secretary of State on July 17, 2008. They turned in over 90,000 signatures, far surpassing the 55,087 needed to place the veto referendum on the November 2008 ballot. The Secretary of State's office has two weeks to review the petition before certifying it for inclusion on the ballot.

The state of Maine has spent millions on Dirigo to get 4500 people health coverage.

Now to continue funding health coverage for the total of 12,600 people on state provided health care, they want new taxes.

Taxes on soda, alcohol and doctors insurance claims.

[elston]

Thank You Forest for the references.....it is very hard to step into the middle of a political issue that has history and is on going, and to make responsible decisions as a voter. I still don't have the answers that I need; I had never heard of the Diringo Plan until I read your references and went to the site that you provided.

I still don't know as much as I need to know....but I see that it addresses funding for expanded health care coverage and that it imposes taxes on soft drinks and beverages and medical insurance claims to do so.

Once again thank you. At least I now have a start on how to research it. I obviously need to look up more about "Dirango"; that is a starting point.

[Northern Maine Land Man]

It's yet another tax increase to prop up yet another bloated corpse of an inefficient and costly state program.

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by elston

Thank You Forest for the references.....it is very hard to step into the middle of a political issue that has history and is on going, and to make responsible decisions as a voter. I still don't have the answers that I need; I had never heard of the Diringo Plan until I read your references and went to the site that you provided.

I still don't know as much as I need to know....but I see that it addresses funding for expanded health care coverage and that it imposes taxes on soft drinks and beverages and medical insurance claims to do so.

Once again thank you. At least I now have a start on how to research it. I obviously need to look up more about "Dirango"; that is a starting point.

From listening to talk show debates about Dirigo. The politicos wanted an all inclusive health care package for the lower income families in Maine.

The state gave contract to a start-up company to mechanize it. The bid was not open bidded, and the company did not go through any reviews to verify that they had any idea of what they were doing. It was purely a backroom deal given to a start-up company. They ate through $20million fighting their own computer glitches, while all new claims payments stopped going out. After a long period with doctors offices complaining about non-payment, it got public concern going, so the company had to go back and hire the previous clerks who had previously been spending out claims payments manually, in the effort to get old claims paid. While they also hired more programmers, to try and get new claims paid.



The state also sunk money into a big media blitz to draw enrollees to join Dirigo.

1. Some were drawn to it from previous state aid programs, purely by the media blitz.

2. Others stopped and reviewed the coverage, and realized that it would cost the patient more, while further restricting their treatment options, so those people refused to shift their policies over to Dirigo.

3. a very small portion of the population without coverage did enroll.

As an outsider who listens to talk radio on occasion this is what I have followed concerning Dirigo.

Tax money that went to Politico buddies, who had no idea what they were doing, and who burned through that money, without providing a service, who eventually had to hire someone with a slight clue to try and fix it. While burning through more tax money, and providing a questionable service to a small portion of the population.

I think it is called: "business as usual".

However I could be worng.

[elston]

From what I have sampled of "talk radio" it is a source of non-information and irresponsible opinions fanned by hosts who have their own agenda--fame and uber-conservatism. I haven't listened in Maine....but was only too familiar with the talk radio movement in Boston and then in California....and as represented in the talking heads on cable TV. If Maine's talk show opinion is agin it.....I am most likely for it....but will seek more information.

This has been a good start and points me in the right direction. Thank You.

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by Northern Maine Land Man

It's yet another tax increase to prop up yet another bloated corpse of an inefficient and costly state program.

IMHO.

All state programs tend to be bloated corpses. They all tend to be inefficient and costly.

Someone has a buddy and that buddy ends up with money in his pocket.

Whenever you think that the government will provide 'free' services, cure illness, and feed us 'rainbow pie' and 'sunshine soup'; they are selling a scam.

[Nor'Eastah]

Originally Posted by elston

I am hopeful that my thread won't start an ideological soap box about the nature of government and taxes in general......

Ummm...

Originally Posted by elston

From what I have sampled of "talk radio" it is a source of non-information and irresponsible opinions fanned by hosts who have their own agenda--fame and uber-conservatism. I haven't listened in Maine....but was only too familiar with the talk radio movement in Boston and then in California....and as represented in the talking heads on cable TV. If Maine's talk show opinion is agin it.....I am most likely for it....but will seek more information.

OK...

[shadowfax1997]

This is an effort to raise money for the dirago health insurance. Beer, wine and soda would be taxed more, as would a 3% on any insurance claim. Anyone who has private insurance would pay more so a handfull of people can get it free. It should be pretty easy to find more information about it. If you want to pay more for government programs, then vote no. Me - I want less government so will be voting yes.

As for talk radio....the world is a much better place because of it. It is a medium that gets information out that isn't filtered by the left wing main stream media. example - 2004 election when dan rather presented a story about president bush that was false. If no talk radio, then it likely would not have been proven false.

[Maineah]

Originally Posted by shadowfax1997

This is an effort to raise money for the dirago health insurance. Beer, wine and soda would be taxed more, as would a 3% on any insurance claim. Anyone who has private insurance would pay more so a handfull of people can get it free. It should be pretty easy to find more information about it. If you want to pay more for government programs, then vote no. Me - I want less government so will be voting yes.

As for talk radio....the world is a much better place because of it. It is a medium that gets information out that isn't filtered by the left wing main stream media. example - 2004 election when dan rather presented a story about president bush that was false. If no talk radio, then it likely would not have been proven false.

I agree with you on the talk radio thing, though the listener has to have the bull**** detector on all the time when listening to any of them. You have to get your news from all sources and sort it out in your own mind. We all know right from wrong , good from bad, and what is and is not anyone else's business. Using those premises as simple guidelines and weeding out the fluff you can usually arrive at some kind of middle ground. No one likes to see people have no access to some modicum of health services,though people do not want to have undebated taxes thrust upon them for bolstering failing projects. We'll all have plenty of that anyway thanks to the Wall Street bail out looming. There comes a time when you can squeeze no more blood from a stone and that time is now. People are literally just fed up with taxes and are putting their collective foot down on this one!