Let me get this straight. Sean Parnell goes to Washington and suddenly realizes that the Federal government is broken. Apparently he hadn’t heard before about the fiscal cliff, sequestration, or the debt limit wrangles. Shocked, he returns to Alaska to solemnly announce that he opposes expanding Medicaid because Alaskans must “take care of ourselves.” (Juneau Empire, March 1, 2013)

And what is Governor Parnell’s plan for “taking care” of those Alaskans, most of whom are working poor, who cannot afford health insurance? He doesn’t have one. Or if he does, it is a “secret plan”, like the one Nixon had to end the Vietnam war. If he were asked, which to my knowledge he hasn’t been, he would probably say it is too expensive.

Interestingly, the governor’s fiscal prudence does not extend to his proposed tax breaks for big oil, which will blow a billion dollar hole in the state budget. That’s billion with a “b”. Which makes the tens of millions the state might be on the hook for Medicaid expansion look like chump change.

You can draw your own conclusions about who Governor Parnell is most concerned about “taking care” of.

David Ottoson

Juneau