Hidden Surprises in the Health Care Bill

Is there anything that Obama has proposed or passed so far that is not a payoff of some sort to Democrat constituencies? We know that massive amounts of the stimulus bill are going to Democrat special interest groups, and reader Mike sends me an item about a union payoff that's buried deep in the health care bill:

Antilabor forces say it's welfare for the UAW and Democrats' union allies. Labor supporters say it falls short of what's needed as tens of thousands of union members are pushed into early retirement as employers cut back health care coverage.

They're both talking about a $10-billion provision tucked deep inside thousands of pages of health care overhaul bills that could help the UAW's retiree health-care plan and other union-backed plans.

It would see the government -- at least temporarily -- pay 80 cents on the dollar to corporate and union insurance plans for claims between $15,000 and $90,000 for retirees age 55 to 64.

Big businesses with union workers are twice as likely to offer retiree benefits as nonunion ones.

Greg Mourad of the National Right to Work Committee called it "a shameless case of political payback," saying Democrats and President Barack Obama are trying "to force the rest of us to pay billions to cover those unions' health care."

Labor advocates say even more funding may be needed.

"It is not enough money," said former U.S. Rep. David Bonior, a Mt. Clemens Democrat who chairs the board at Washington, D.C.-based American Rights at Work, a labor advocacy group. "That will have to be supplemented to fill the gap."

We've bailed out the car companies, created Cash for Clunkers to help them sell more cars (though most of the sales have gone to foreign manufacturers), and now the American taxpayers are being asked to pay for the incredibly stupid retirement deals the car makers negotiated with the union.

It's as though the entire government now functions only for the purpose of saving the hides of Dem contributors.