Liberal elites in the media and elsewhere have started calling for unvaccinated Americans to be forced to pay higher insurance premiums and taxes — or worse, to be denied coverage for the costs of any coronavirus-related hospitalizations even if they have insurance.
These new pleas come from a “policy journalist” for Washington Monthly, a liberal magazine that says it “tells the stories of how government truly works —and how to make it do so better.”
In a news piece published this week, reporter Anne Kim said that the government should force unvaccinated people to pay greater taxes and fees than everyone else.
So far, we haven't asked unvaccinated Americans to pay their fair share of the costs their "personal" choices are imposing on the rest of us. I propose to change that @monthly – https://t.co/byTfAXeqKJ
— Anne Kim (@Anne_S_Kim) August 11, 2021
“Does an unvaccinated high school kid want to play football or another high-contact sport? Schools should double the fees for them to cover the expense of disinfection or for teammates infected in an outbreak,” Kim wrote.
“Does a traveler wish to go unvaccinated? Airlines should charge a ‘public safety fee’ with compensates flight attendants and staff for sick days or lost wages,” she said.
After listing some more proposed fees and taxes, she then falsely said that “none” of these “penalties would affect low-income Americans disproportionately.”
But that is untrue. Data shows that vaccination rates are lowest among people with low income.
“Over half of unvaccinated Americans are in households that earn under $50,000 every year,” Axios said last month.
Not a single thought given to the civil liberties implications of forcing the revelation of private medical information as this "price," nor how the impact of "exclusion" will fall disproportionately on those with lower socioeconomic status. All that's to be celebrated, evidently pic.twitter.com/VEqv7nB704
— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) August 4, 2021
Comparatively, Kim’s ideas are one of the less evil ones.
In a news piece published recently in MarketWatch, Texas A&M professor Jonathan Meer called for unvaccinated people who pay for private insurance to be denied their coverage for coronavirus hospitalizations.
“Insurers, led by gov. programs, should declare that eligible people who choose not to get vaccinated are responsible for the entire cost of coronavirus-related hospitalizations,” Meer said.
While some Democrats might chuckle at the idea of using conservatives’ own Obamacare arguments against them, Republicans have never said that unhealthy people who pay for insurance to be kept from coverage. They have asked only that the healthy not be forced to subsidize unhealthy people’s premiums.
Regardless, the irony is not getting lost on Republicans, who were fast to note that Meer had just unintentionally debunked the liberal narrative that healthcare was a human right:
https://twitter.com/MattWalshBlog/status/1425148237384757259?
Should there be an obesity tax?
— Kyle Smith (@rkylesmith) August 10, 2021
You either have to know this is an asinine comment or you’re suggesting that we also must now blame and shame the overweight and smokers and for the strain they put on the system?
— The Currency of Cool (@currencyofcool) August 10, 2021
Glad to see you come out so strongly against nationalized health care payments – would not have guessed you to be such an advocate of personal payments only.
— Cheesetrader (@cheesetrader1) August 10, 2021
Isn’t healthcare a human right? Is it less of a human right if one disagrees with another one’s politics?
— WealthSquad Lan (@hypest_ion) August 10, 2021
Funny how the “healthcare is a human right” and “it should be free” crowd are now calling for people’s insurance to be canceled, and not cover Covid expenses. pic.twitter.com/Fa7N1nyMaM
— Jack Straw (from Wichita) (@GoldPorcupine) August 10, 2021
Author: Steven Sinclaire
