Medicaid spending is eating up budget

I will go to my grave never understanding the philosophy of liberal Democrats. Call it my curse in life. Their course of action seems to lead to an obvious conclusion yet they continue to ignore the obvious. If I'm missing something here, I honestly wish someone would educate me.

The Missouri House this week approve an additional $185 million to expand the Medicaid program in Missouri. That brings Missouri's spending to $5.5 BILLION to address the health care needs of the low income. And yet the Democrats - despite spending one-third of our total state budget on Medicaid - bemoan the cruel tactics of the Republicans for ignoring the health needs of the poor.

Rep. Yaphett El-Amin, D-St. Louis, said, "The people of the state of Missouri should be insulted today as we slap them in the face again and tell them their health care is not important." Well Rep. El-Amin when you spend $5.5 billion to address those needs, no one need be insulted. The slap in the face is the phony, liberal, spend-at-any-cost approach that your party embraces.

Medicaid should focus on the young and the elderly. It's those millions in between who burden the system and cost taxpayers money that could be used for education or a host of other equally important needs. If health issues are related to irresponsible behavior, why should our tax dollars go to address that problem?

Too many Medicaid recipients are obese smokers whose idea of home cooking is to go inside McDonald's instead of using the drive-through. Their idea of a vegetable is a french fry. Prenatal care does not concern them. Issues like alcohol and drug abuse are not a high priority because taxpayers will pay for their medical needs and they know it.

This snapshot does not apply to all Medicaid recipients. But we know of far too many examples where these issues do apply. And that's why we pay $5.5 billion in Missouri alone to address medical issues.

The Democrats want to portray the Medicaid program as insufficient. But if they had their way, half of the state budget would address the health issues of the poor. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to see where this will lead. The Democrats say that $5.5 billion in Medicaid expenses shows the poor "they are not important." How in the world can anyone look at that budget expenditure and make such a ludicrous statement?

If the day comes - and it likely will - that Democrats are returned to power, hang onto your tax dollars because there won't be much left to raise your family, provide for their education and perhaps set aside a small portion for your retirement. The number of working families who provide for themselves will diminish and a full-blown welfare society will be the result.

That's not my idea of a society that works.