I wonder if Governor Pawlenty would consider a "health impact fee" on the wealthy. A corporate user health impact fee paid yearly by corporations for the pollution of the water and air to clean up the damage they do to our environment?
We know he wants to use gambling to try and balance the budget. Who spends the most on gambling? Those in poverty trying to escape poverty. To balance the budget, the Pawlenty administration has also imposed co-pays on medication and medical services for the poor while cutting programs that serve the poor.
A user impact fee on cigarettes also most punished the poor. It's safe for him to change the words from tax to user impact fee. It means the same whatever you call it. A tax is a tax whether it's called a co-pay or health user impact fee. He kept his word to the middle class and the poor. He changed the wording so it wasn't called a tax. Now it's a sugar-coated co-pay or user impact fee. I think a "corporate user health impact fee" would be appropriate to help the cause.
Brad Nordby
Benson
