A prescription for a healthier Wisconsin, or a healthy bite out of your paycheck? Opinions differ on "Healthy Wisconsin," a proposal from state Senate Democrats, introduced as an amendment to the state budget . Robert Kraig with The Wisconsin Health Care Reform Coalition maintains this won't really be an additional tax burden on Wisconsin families. "The Senate plan will replace current health care spending with an assessment," says Kraig. "It will actually save people a substantial amount of money, while providing much more reliable health care, that they can always count on."
But R.J. Pirlot with Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce says this health care prescription will add to Wisconsin's already high taxes. "Now is clearly not the time to raise taxes, " says Pirlot. "A $15.2 billion tax increase . . . is nothing more than a recipe for fewer jobs and lower wages in the state of Wisconsin." Pirlot is also critical of the timing: the plan from Senate Democrats, he says has been unveiled at the "eleventh hour," with no public input. He hopes cooler heads prevail in the Republican controlled state Assembly.
