Calling it "media bias" just doesn't get it on this one.
Rep. Charlie Hoffman (D-Georgetown) will need all the help he can get in November after loudly supporting the labor union that constantly attacks workers at Toyota Motor Manufacturing of Kentucky. And now that he has signed on to the Attack Wal-Mart Bill, the paper does everything it can to obscure the issue in today's edition.
The story isn't available online, but the headline reads "Legislators consider bill on health care funding" and includes a picture of Rep. Hoffman with the following quote attributed to him: "Some of the so-called health care plans are just so the company can claim that they make those available, but the benefits are minimal." That's funny. Democrats in Frankfort wrote all the health plan mandates, including the bare bones version no one wants. So is Hoffman suggesting some kind of bill that would undo the damage his fellow Democrats did to the health insurance market with their 1994 HillaryCare initiative?
No, he wants to put a tax on Wal-Mart for hiring part-time workers.
To their credit, the News-Graphic does quote Republican Senator Damon Thayer on the issue, albeit way down in the story and without exploring his statement much. Kudos to Thayer for calling the bill what it is. "It's socialism," he said. Exactly.
So Hoffman wants to tax Wal-Mart shoppers extra because Wal-Mart doesn't pay, in his opinion, a fair share of health insurance costs. The way the bill is written, by the time Toyota adds another 1500 jobs in the state, Hoffman will be after them as well. The bill only applies to companies with 10,000 employees in the state.
Rep. Hoffman seems totally clueless about what is wrong with this bill. "I think it is well within the purview of government to increase the standard of living for its constituents," he said.
How do you figure that, sir? By killing part-time jobs or raising consumer prices? The Georgetown News-Graphic is doing no one any favors by propping up this guy.
