This is really SICK!

Dan over at Between the Links has up a fascinating tidbit on Alabama Senator E.B. McClain and piece of legislation he stuck in at the very last second. According to Dan....


"On the last day of the session, Senator McClain sponsored a curious resolution, SR97, that seeks to provide members of the Alabama Senate with the same health insurance benefits as all other state employees receive. I am told that currently legislators can buy into a state health insurance plan, but family coverage costs $800 a month. The resolution seems to seek the same benefit as other state employees, where there is no premium for single coverage and a $180 a month premium for family coverage.

Bump that!!

My husband works 40 hours a week at a manual labor job for well let's just say it falls waaaaaaaayyyyyy short of that hefty $50,000 our do nothing senate and legislature currently pocket on top of thier other salaries.

We pay $87 a week for family coverage and after that and taxes my husband brings home less than $200 a week for FOUR people to survive on. That's $348 a month for insurance, which is a lot more than what Senator McClain would have to pay if WE start paying their premiums.

We do not accept any state assistance and get by the best we can on less than $200 a week. If we can pay $87 a week for family coverage and live on less that $200 a week I'd wager that our good senators and legislators can eek out at least that much from their fat paychecks and have way more than $200 a week to get by on.

I'd like McClain to explain why he and his fellow senators and their families are more deserving of good insurance coverage at a lower rate (and at the expense of taxpayers) than my family and many thousands of Alabama families can get. Why should those of us who struggle daily be required to cover a fat cat politician's insurance premiums when we barely have enough money to eat and pay our bills after we pay for our insurance?

I remember a few years ago I traveled with my family to the First Baptist Church in Nashville, TN to hear the Rev. Joseph Lowery, father of the civil rights movement, speak. Present at this Sunday morning service was Senator Bill Frist from TN and a few other US Congressmen and Senators. Rev. Lowery smacked them around in a beautiful way when he asked how they can take our money and provide themselves and their families with the very best in healthcare coverage while leaving the rest of us to do the best we can. He said, "How can you take so much from your brother and provide yourself with things using your brother's money that your brother doesn't have?"

Senator Frist had no answer. I don't imagine McClain will either.


H/T Dan