(TruthandLiberty.com) – California is among the most liberal, if not the most liberal, states in the country. It has a Democratic supermajority in the state legislature that can do whatever it wants without opposition from Republicans. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom is among the farthest left politicians in America.
Despite their Democratic majority rule, lawmakers still couldn’t pass a socialist single-payer healthcare bill. It wasn’t even a close call. The goal of a single-payer government-run healthcare system has been a long-held dream in California. The left hoped it would be a model for national healthcare reforms. Instead, the dooming of the legislation might have hurt national Democrats who want to impose the same healthcare systems on all of America.
Universal Healthcare Fails to Secure Votes
On Monday, January 31, California Assembly Bill 1400 stalled out. For the bill to have any hopes of passing, it needed to pass the Assembly by Monday. Its failure shattered expectations among the far-left and killed universal healthcare for at least another year. Yet, that might be an oversimplification of the matter as its hopes of passing may never come to fruition.
As always, the reality of a massive government overhaul of healthcare comes down to money. Yet, Democrats split the two issues legislatively to avoid that discussion, hoping the cost factor wouldn’t spook votes in the legislature. It failed miserably.
The bill’s author, Assemblymember Ash Kalra, pulled the bill for consideration at the last possible moment. Kalra said the bill couldn’t gain support for passage by double digits. He decided forcing a vote only to see his single-payer legislation go up in flames would alienate his colleagues and make it harder to pass the controversial legislation in the future.
Was Universal Healthcare Cost the Only Issue?
Without a universal government-run healthcare system in California, the state paid $500 billion for healthcare last year. One can imagine how much more a full-blown government-run healthcare system might cost. Still, a separate bill to fund the massive program would have dramatically increased taxes on businesses and individuals and might have doomed the controversial measure. It was a bridge too far for many Democrats.
Those who opposed the bill said there were too many unknowns. Questions included the program’s true cost before the government blew up the current healthcare system and potentially created a severe healthcare crisis. It’s not just the unknown costs, either, despite concerns that unsustainable taxes won’t support such an extensive program. Opposed lawmakers of the bill also say they aren’t clear how it would impact retirees or medical workers.
So, if far-left California can’t pass a single-payer government-run healthcare plan, how can Congress? It’s a debate that rages on, but Democrats struggle to gain traction when it comes time to vote a bill into law.
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