With an eye-popping price tag of at least $400 billion each year, the Democrat-led Senate passed out Senate Bill 562 (Lara), a bill to create a universal government-run health care system for all residents, with a vote of 23 to 14.
Senator Jim Nielsen (R-Tehama), Vice Chair of the Senate Budget Committee, issued the following statement in opposition:
“Our healthcare system is not perfect, but this is not a solution to improve healthcare.
“The proposal includes a sales tax increase and a tax increase on employers (payroll tax) to pay for this massive government-run experiment with our healthcare.
“Our businesses are already rattled by the minimum wage, increased regulations, Obamacare and, now, increased taxes to pay for diminished, rationed and more expensive healthcare. What is the incentive for an entrepreneur to start a new business in California or to even keep a business here?
“Obamacare has been an epic failure for the country with unaffordable sky rocketing premiums for American families, making healthcare unavailable as a result of the government controlled system. Now, California politicians want to take this bad idea even further, paid for by massive new taxes on top of taxes.
“This expensive, ‘government-rather-than-
