Bless Gov. Gary Herbert for not wanting to shortchange Utahns. But, bless House Speaker Becky Lockhart more for not wanting to contribute to the national debt.
Herbert wants to accept, say, $500 million in federal money to expand Medicaid in Utah. Lockhart says no, not wanting the federal money. She says the federal funding is unsustainable. Herbert suggests we can't just let those in need go without the coverage. He says it is illogical to pass up the federal funding.
Is it?
What is more logical, saying, "We, the federal government, cannot afford out of pocket to pay for this, but we have an open-ended tab that we know we really aren't going to have to pay off, so let's run it up to the hilt," or, "No, Uncle Sam, bills do come due. If we are part of the household, we'll pony up for as much as we can and cover our part of the family on our own. We won't be responsible for irresponsible debt."
It is not logical to suppose you can run up a bill forever and without end. It is logical to worry about how you are going to pay your bills. Not expanding Medicaid might seem like passing up free money, but it is also passing up unfree debt, for debt is not free. Passing up medicaid expansion is not saying, "No, we won't help you." It is saying, "We will help as many of you as we can, but we are going to pay for what we give you, instead of running our nation deeper into debt."
Bless Becky Lockhart for her stand. Hope it is not political suicide. Passing up a "free" $500 million is a hard way to win friends.
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