Bush hates children

In commenting on the abysmal response of the federal government to hurricane Katrina, Kanya West said George Bush "hates Black people." Well, given what he has stated are his intentions regarding funding for children's heath insurance the same could be said -- George Bush "hates children."

The New York Times reports:

The White House said on Saturday that President Bush would veto a bipartisan plan to expand the Children’s Health Insurance Program, drafted over the last six months by senior members of the Senate Finance Committee.

The vow puts Mr. Bush at odds with the Democratic majority in Congress, with a substantial number of Republican lawmakers and with many governors of both parties, who want to expand the popular program to cover some of the nation’s eight million uninsured children.

Tony Fratto, a White House spokesman, said: “The president’s senior advisers will certainly recommend a veto of this proposal. And there is no question that the president would veto it.”

The program, which insured 7.4 million people at some time in the last year, is set to expire Sept. 30.

So why does the president intend to veto the bill? It can't be because we lack the money to pay for it ... we certainly have no problem finding trillions of dollars for an obscene war. Could it be that Bush is receiving some sort of kick-back from the tobacco industry, who would see increased taxes on cigarettes to help pay for the coverage? Taxing cigarettes seems like and EXCELLENT idea to me. Why not ask people to pay a luxury tax on an item they definitely don't "need."

Or, could it be that the bill failed to include kick-backs to one of the presidents OTHER favorite corporations -- the health insurance industry.

“The proposal would dramatically expand the Children’s Health Insurance Program, adding nonpoor children to the program, and more than doubling the level of spending,” Mr. Fratto said. “This will have the effect of encouraging many to drop private coverage, to go on the government-subsidized program.”

In addition, Mr. Fratto said, the Senate plan does not include any of Mr. Bush’s proposals to change the tax treatment of health insurance, in an effort to make it more affordable for millions of Americans.

God forbid that insurance companies lose even a fraction of the money they gouge from consumers every year. Anyone who believes, as the president seems to, that giving tax breaks to insurance companies will be an incentive for them to reduce the cost of health insurance is living in a dream land! Those greedy bas**** will simply pocket the money.