Like the old joke about a thousand lawyers at the bottom of the ocean, it’s a good start.
Gov. Charlie Baker’s $38 billion budget plan would slash the budget-busting Medicaid program and cut spending throughout state government, setting up months of wrangling with Democratic lawmakers over who will feel the most pain — and who won’t.
“This is the first chess move with the Legislature,” said Josh Archambault of the Pioneer Institute, who has studied the growing impact of MassHealth spending on state coffers. “We’re going to be talking about this for at least the next two years. Given how MassHealth has been eating up education or cops or transportation spending, there needs to be discussion to get this program on a sustainable path.”
Thus far, Charlie Baker has been that rarest of all politicians in the 21st Century: a Republican who goes on offense rather than defense after winning an election (contrast that with the Boehner/McConnell Capitulation Clown show from the last couple of weeks). This may seem surprising at first, given that he is a northeastern Republican and we don’t always expect the most out of them. However, my theory is that they go in not planning on getting a second term and figure, “Why not?”
Baker also got rid of another Romney appointee to the Mass. Health Connector Board, Jonathan Gruber. Yes, that Jonathan Gruber.
And we’re still wondering how Mitt lost to Obama in 2012.
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