It is no secret that the President and his congressional accomplices achieved their November victory with more than a little help (much of it in violation of campaign finance laws) from the labor unions.
The SEIU, for example, made more than $27 million in expenditures in support of Obama’s presidential campaign. And, having paid so much to install Obama & Co. in power, the unions expect a return on investment.
The President paid the first installment on his union debt with his nomination of California Representative Hilda Solis, the hand-picked candidate of SEIU President Andy Stern, for U.S. Secretary of Labor.
Meanwhile, since ”card check” stalled last spring, congressional Democrats have been casting about for some way to repay the unions. They have finally hit upon a scheme even more anti-democratic than their support for EFCA.
According to news reports, the Democrats plan to use their impending health care “reform” bill to repay the unions. Specifically, they want to exempt labor unions from their proposed tax on employer-based health coverage:
Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., and Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., both would like to slap a tax on private health plans to pay for a new government one. But they’ve carved out one very big exception: unions and their gold-plated benefit packages.
It is hypocritical enough that the Democrats would impose such a tax after attacking John McCain for proposing something similar during last year’s election. That they would brazenly exempt a high-profile Democrat consituency is outrageous:
This effectively gives Big Labor an advantage in the market and forces nonunion workers to subsidize unions for their share of this bad idea.
This does, however, help to explain why the SEIU and other unions are so enthusiastic about Obamacare. It is also a perfect illustration of why you don’t want politicians and bureaucrats making decisions about health care.
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