Business Socialism

That’s what NRO’s David Freddoso calls industry support for S-CHIP, as business owners stand to profit from dumping dependents on the state. This isn’t a new thing — my friend Tim Carney wrote an entire book about businesses that feed off of various government subsidies and programs — but it’s depressing all the same. And, as Cato’s Michael Cannon reports, there are plenty of other business associations (not to mention the State Governor’s Association) that are thrilled with the idea of letting taxpayers pick up health-care costs:

The “bootleggers” behind SCHIP expansion include those who stand to gain financially from greater government subsidies for health insurance and health care. They include several lobbying groups: America’s Health Insurance Plans, and the insurers it represents; the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America and the drug manufacturers it represents; the American Medical Association and the physicians it represents; and the Federation of American Hospitals and the for-profit hospitals it represents. State officials who support SCHIP expansion, such as California’s Governor Schwarzenegger and the rest of the National Governors Association, also belong in the bootleggers category because increasing federal SCHIP spending benefits them politically: it enables them to provide new subsidies to voters at a fraction of the cost.

But the Senate’s chugging down the government-health-care railway all the same.