Both parties need to stick to the Constitution when conducting business in Washington

UWGOP member Ben Turpin reflects on the debate surrounding the health care bill and the ways the Dems are trying to pass it. Turpin argues that no matter who you are or what party you belong to, the Constitution needs to be abided by. Is reconciliation justified? What about Louise Slaughter's attempts to pass the bill through her work in the House Rules Committee? And do procedural rules need to be revamped?

The article can be found here: http://www.thenewbenturpin.com/

Wisconsinites divided on health-care reform

From the Wausau Daily Herald:

Poll shows Wisconsinites divided on health care
Associated Press

MADISON — A new poll shows that Wisconsin residents are nearly evenly divided over national health care reform.

The poll released Tuesday done by the University of Wisconsin Survey Center shows that 46 percent of respondents oppose the changes being developed in Washington, D.C., based on what they’ve heard or read. Forty-four percent support the changes.

That difference is within the poll’s margin of error which was plus or minus 4 percentage points. The telephone survey of 507 randomly selected Wisconsin residents was done between Oct. 29 and Nov. 20.

The poll also found that 72 percent believe the country’s health care system is in a state of crisis or has major problems and 56 percent believe health care costs are problematic.

For the original text, click here.

It is interesting to see how a state who employs a large number of health care providers and insurance workers feels about Obamas plan. Feel free to comment.

Health Care Forum a Success

The health care forum held by UWCRs was a huge success last night. Great discussion was generated by our panel and by questions from the audience.

The links are here:
Badger Herald - Panel debate health care reforms
Daily Cardinal - Panel addresses setback with health-care bill

For those of you who attended, what did you find interesting? Surprising? Confusing? Clearly, there are a lot of moving parts in the health care industry. It will be interesting to see if Congress can take all parties into consideration and make a decision that is in the best interest of the majority of Americans.

--Stephen D.

Protect Small Businesses, Preserve Our Campus

One of the beauties of this campus is also one of its main attractions, drawing people from all over the city of Madison everyday. Leading directly to the capital, State Street is lined with many trendy boutiques, coffee shops and eateries that will satisfy any craving, even for the pickiest eaters. One could find whatever type of popcorn their heart desired at Vic’s Corn Popper, or create any costume imaginable at Ragstock. If you’re looking for a particular hat, it could probably be found at the Sacred Feather, and if your bike breaks down along the way, take it to the Yellow Jersey. The businesses on State Street are convenient, and they provide the residents of this campus with a variety of places to shop and eat. Simply strolling down State Street is an experience in itself. However, one important observation that many residents may fail to notice is that many of these stores are, in fact, small businesses.

Small businesses make up 99 percent of businesses in this country, and have historically employed half of the U.S. workforce. Our country has been able to thrive because of small businesses, and these businesses have provided jobs for many Americans all over the country. Having a variety of businesses on State not only makes our campus unique, but it provides many students with employment opportunities. I, in fact, work on State at Jimmy John’s, and I am extremely thankful that I even have a job considering the number of people that are unemployed in this country.

I bring this up because small businesses are now being threatened. We are all aware of the ongoing healthcare debate, and I’m sure most people understand the harms associated with preserving the status quo. There’s no doubt in my mind that reform is needed, it’s just the ways in which our government plans on administering these changes worries me. The Democratic plan for a government takeover of healthcare would impose more than $820 billion in new tax hikes, and Democrats want to enact a $544 billion surtax on the so-called “rich” to help pay for this government takeover. According to the IRS, the majority of the “rich” targeted by this surtax are small business owners. Small businesses struggle to stay in business as it is, so by imposing a surtax this could force small business owners to cut costs, leading to millions of job losses. So the question is, why are Democrats pushing a government takeover of health care that will harm small businesses and increase job losses?

This just doesn’t make sense.

Just the other day I passed by Up Spatique on State Street, and a “70 percent everything” sign caught my eye. Well of course I walked in to take a look; I wasn’t going to pass up a sale. But as I glanced around I noticed the store was almost completely bare, and then it hit me that this place was going out of business. It’s upsetting to witness such a misfortune, but it’s even more upsetting to know that every employee of Up is now unemployed. Now imagine our beautiful State Street empty. Picture businesses closing all along the road, with “For Rent” signs in every window. What would that do to our campus? What would we have left?

--Sarah Hertz