Those who work deserve some help

Published 3:00 pm Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Some folks are complaining about the proposed tax break — until 2018 — for those covered by “Cadillac” health insurance plans, many of them union members.

Another more positive way to look at it is to ask “Why not?” Why not give a break to those who actually work for a living, creating products which proudly wear the “Made in USA” logo? If bankers and brokers on Wall Street, who seem to spend an inordinate amount of time devising profitable (to them) ways to screw up the economy for the rest of us, are subsidized — why not working blue collar men and women?

As for me, I’m delighted to learn some unions have successively bargained good health insurance coverage for their members. After all the years of union bashing under Reagan and Bush and Clinton, throwing NAFTA at them, it’s good to see some tiny progress for blue collar folks.

Since insurance costs are usually paid by the employer, this may be a help to them as well. This whole idea, if passed, can be an across-the-board win/win.

Benita Helseth

Lake Stevens