| Dave Mann of the Texas Observer wrote an excellent piece de-bunking the myths and lies in Rick Perry's op-ed on health care reform that is being pushed around the state. From Mann's piece, titled, "More Misleading Rhetoric From Perry" leads off strong:
'm starting to wonder where Texas Gov. Rick Perry is getting his facts.
Mann then breaks down Perry's various lies. Perry contends that insurance premiums in Massachusetts are "40 percent more expensive than elsewhere in the country." (I assume by "elsewhere in the country," he means the national average.) That's a massive exaggeration. Massachusetts does have the highest premiums in the country (the state also has a high cost of living and higher-than-average salaries). But premiums in the Bay State are just 8 percent higher than the national average. (In 2008, the average family premium in Massachusetts was $13,800, according to this Boston Globe story. The average U.S. premium for 2008 was $12,700, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.) So Massachusetts has historically high premiums, but nowhere near Perry's 40 percent number. Perry also claims that the mandate didn't reduce the number of uninsured: "[T]he number of uninsured people in Massachusetts is about the same as it was when the mandates were passed in 2006." That's demonstrably false. Prior to 2006, 10 percent of Massachusetts residents lacked health insurance. By 2009, the uninsured rate had dropped to 2.5 percent—by far the lowest in the country. (In Texas, more than 20 percent of the population lacks health insurance.)
Read the full piece at the Texas Observer. Mann's piece is important, because it helps us remember that it's not just that Rick Perry has been a failure and a liar in the past, it's that he is still being a failure and a liar, right now, in the present tense. That's something we should all remember and keep track in the weeks and months ahead... |
