{"id":1008,"date":"2019-04-11T00:17:33","date_gmt":"2019-04-11T07:17:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/danschmidtforsenate.com\/blog\/?p=1008"},"modified":"2019-04-14T20:16:33","modified_gmt":"2019-04-15T03:16:33","slug":"entitled","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/danschmidtforsenate.com\/blog\/?p=1008","title":{"rendered":"Entitled"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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I can understand legislative Republicans need to put sideboards on Medicaid Expansion. Since many government programs have become labeled \u201centitlements\u201d we see them differently than if they were earned. I can understand legislative Republicans trying to fight people receiving a public benefit feeling entitled when others pay for it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many years back, I remember hearing two locals in a bar\ntalking in the fall in central Idaho. One turned to the other, \u201cYou got your<\/em> elk?\u201d. He nodded, \u201cYou get yours<\/em>?\u201d My stomach was turning. Those\nanimals they harvested were not theirs.<\/em>\nNeither of these men were entitled to an elk. They should have been thankful to\nthe Almighty for the harvest, but their words, their attitude conveyed that\nthey felt entitled to \u201ctheir<\/em> elk\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was accepted to two colleges, one private and one state in\nmy senior high school year. It turned out with the scholarships the private\nschool ended up costing my family less, so I chose it. That was a big mistake. Because,\nfor the next four years I spent time with a lot of classmates who felt very\nentitled to their enrollment, their opportunities, and the future they anticipated.\nI came to hate rich people, a prejudice I still struggle with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Entitlement in the healthcare field can be brutal. Doctors can\nfeel entitled to respect and income from their lofty positions; some patients feel\nentitled to a life free from pain and some consider they are entitled to a life\nbeyond the natural course. We are only entitled to the grace of this life we\nhave been given; every day we should give humble thanks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Getting elected to represent our constituents can also give\none a sense of entitlement. Indeed, the law and the process empower the elected\nofficial with the legal power to vote for laws that will constrain all of us. We\nare a nation of laws. Such is the nature of this republic. But I look for\nhumility in the public servants I vote for. Maybe you don\u2019t; humility doesn\u2019t\nwin a lot of votes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have considered all this as I watch the Idaho legislature\nstruggle with Medicaid expansion, Proposition 2, the initiative Idaho voters\napproved by a substantial margin in November. It was an issue the legislature\navoided for six years. But Idaho voters endorsed the plan to enroll people who\ncould not access health insurance in the most cost-effective way. But the\nlegislature has decided they know best and have proposed a new and different plan.\nIt now awaits the governor\u2019s signature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I appreciate the Idaho Republican legislator\u2019s intent. But\nthey have crafted the wrong solution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Governor Little should veto this legislation. The reasons\nare clear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, it will keep more people in poverty. Evidence from\nother states clearly shows this. People with health insurance are more likely\nto look for work and stay at work than those without.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Second, it will grow government and add cost to Idaho\ntaxpayers. Chasing down deadbeats from Boise is more expensive than looking\nthem in the eye in our own communities and letting them know we expect more.\nDon\u2019t think a government program like \u201cWork Requirements\u201d can absolve us from\nour own civic duty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Third, there are no supports, \u201cspringboards\u201d as Governor\nLittle has described them, in the legislation. People might need help to get\nback to work, to climb out of the hole they are in. The help is out here; this\nlegislation has no connection to these supports. It\u2019s just a stick; no carrot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, I could point to the convoluted process this\nlegislation has taken; more time, more effort could produce a better result.\nThe bill was introduced in a Senate committee, substantially changed through\namendments on the floor of the Senate, then changed again on the floor of the\nHouse. It comes back to the Senate committee who did not support the amendments\nbut the full Senate did, only because the House was holding a hostage bill: Medicaid\nfunding. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I appreciate the intent. Nobody deserves to be entitled. Not even the Idaho legislature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Governor Little signed this legislation into law on Tuesday, two days after this was written.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I can understand legislative Republicans need to put sideboards on Medicaid Expansion. Since many government programs have become labeled \u201centitlements\u201d we see them differently than if they were earned. I can understand legislative Republicans trying to fight people receiving a … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1009,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/danschmidtforsenate.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1008"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/danschmidtforsenate.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/danschmidtforsenate.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/danschmidtforsenate.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/danschmidtforsenate.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1008"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/danschmidtforsenate.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1008\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1010,"href":"https:\/\/danschmidtforsenate.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1008\/revisions\/1010"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/danschmidtforsenate.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1009"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/danschmidtforsenate.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1008"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/danschmidtforsenate.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1008"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/danschmidtforsenate.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1008"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}