The recent Times Argus headline “Shumlin eyes payroll tax hike” on the front page unfortunately tells only half the story of funding for single payer. It isn’t until the last paragraph on Page 3 of the Peter Hirschfeld article that we read about the “biggest health care premium reduction in American history” that should more than offset the payroll tax in dollars for all Vermonters.
To emphasize in a headline only one aspect of the plan without the other is not even-handed reporting. Unfortunately, to many casual readers, the “tax,” not the “premium reduction” is what they will end up remembering.
Jerry Kilcourse
Montpelier