Day 9: SB 24 Hospital Bed Tax Bill & Senator Heath hiding from reporters when asked why he defends $150000 Chip Rogers job at GPB

Day 9: SB 24 Hospital Bed Tax Bill & Senator Heath hiding from reporters when asked why he defends $150000 Chip Rogers job at GPB

Friday 02/01/2013. Ninth day of the Georgia Legislative Session. The House passed SB24, bill known as the Bed Tax Bill. This bill moved swiftly through the Capitol, and it is one of the attempts to reduce the deficit of Medicaid locally through state taxes. The bill even included suggestionsby Governor Nathan Deal, who most likely is going to sing it into law pretty soon. We have witnessed the reluctance of the Governor to take the extension of Medicaid offered by the Federal Administration, regardless of its benefits for the people of Georgia. We also have heard how overwhelmingly beneficial thiswould be for the state.

Bills like SB24 are either attempts of the State Government to save face and claim Georgia is dealing with the crisis of Medicaid by itself while still refusing Federal money (politically convenient as Georgia is one of those staunchly states that refuses anything that is coming from the Obama administration, regardless if it is good for the state), or a strategy to get a political distraction to discretely take the Federal Aid. For the best of Georgia, let’s hope for the second.

Also, an interesting video of Senator Bill Heath hiding from a reporter when asked why he defends the $150000 made-up job of former Senator Chip Rogers at GPB. Former Senator Chip Rogers renounced to the state Senate to take a job on GPB, his salary being the double ($150000) than any other producer of GPB. The move created major discomfort among donors and workers as well, to the point of one producer quitting her job as protest. When questioned how GPB would pay so much to Chip Rogers after having constant cuts on its personnel and furlongs, GPB communicated that Chip Rogers salary would be paid fully with Georgia tax payers’ money.