Michigan Republicans believe that having a job is actually a good thing.

The question to me is; do the Michigan Democrats?  The answer appears to be no.

The Lansing State Journal is reporting on the Michigan Republican Party’s bills to incentivize Michigan’s able bodied Medicaid enrollees to find a job or at the very least work at bettering themselves to be able to enter the job market.  The Michigan Democratic Party are up in arms about that.

In the article State Senator Mike Shirkey, a Clarklake Republican was quoted stating:

Work is good…The best way to find a better-paying job is to have a job.

That certainly sounds reasonable to me, so ask yourself how that is not reasonable to Michigan’s Democratic Party.  They are against every bill that the Michigan Republican Party has proposed and have not submitted a bill of their own to attempt to incentivize Michigan able bodied Medicaid recipients to find a job or work towards one.

The Michigan Republican Party’s goals for the able bodied Michigan Medicaid recipients work bill is:

  1. to rein in a massive, costly government health insurance program they say has grown far beyond its basic mission,
  2. to help businesses fill job openings
  3. and to reinforce the importance of work for abled-bodied people.

State Senator Mike Shirkey stated that making abled-bodied Medicaid enrollees work or receive job training is not punitive and the bill:

represents a very reasonable, a very responsible, a very compassionate list of exemptions and encouragement for those who are covered by Medicaid in Michigan to engage in the workforce

Senator Shirkey went on to say that one of the best things people can do for their health is to work, and the Medicaid expansion, which he supported, created “unintended disincentives" for Michigan’s able bodied adults to stay unemployed.

Michigan State Representative Yousef Rabhi, an Ann Arbor Democrat was quoted in the article stating:

Medicaid is an earned benefit system that we take on together, as a state, because Michiganders understand that everyone deserves the opportunity to be healthy…This bill is heartless and misguided, and I hope the people of Michigan watch closely as Republicans rob them of their health care coverage.

Really Representative Rabhi, how is Medicaid exactly earned?

Governor Snyder, who himself is a self-described strong Medicaid proponent, is a bit leery of these proposed bills.  Ari Adler, his spokesmen, was quoted in the article stating:

He's not opposed to them if done responsibly

Senator Shirkey wants to work with Governor Snyder so he can craft the Senates bill:

in a way that he can support

A bit of information on Michigan’s Medicaid program, the taxpayer’s of Michigan and the nation are paying for approximately 2.5 million Michigan residents, which is an unbelievable quarter of Michigan’s population, and costs the taxpayers approximately $17 billion a year.

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