Fosyth County Health Care Benefits

Forsyth County, GA residents:

what are you doing at 6pm today?

Here's one to get the blood pressure up on a beautiful autumn morning:  Today at 6pm the Forsyth County Commission is going to vote on health care benefits for ex-employees.  Big deal, you say?  Then don't worry about reading any further, don't concern yourself with how much it's going to cost you (the taxpayer) and certainly don't wonder why government workers should get a free ride when the rest of us have to pay.

According to the Forsyth News, today's the day for the vote on health care benefits for officials.  Keep in mind that we are talking about "Elected officials [including] the commissioners, sheriff, clerk of court, tax commissioner, coroner, solicitor general, probate judge, chief magistrate and two state court judges."

If this vote passes, these employees will, once they are out of office, receive coverage for a year or more, depending on how long they were in office.  Well, okay... I can cope with that, maybe.  But that's not where it ends.  They would then be eligible for coverage until they turn 65, which is when Medicare kicks in.

Now, it's one thing to cover some guy who's in his late 50s to early 60s until he reaches retirement age.  But what about, let's say, a 28 year old sheriff who serves one year?  Are we really expected to foot the bill for his medical coverage for the next 37 years?

When someone in the private sector finds him-or-herself out of work, we have to buy coverage through COBRA, at prices which could be seen as akin to extracting a pound of flesh.  And in the majority of cases, after 18 months you're on your own.  But not these folks - apparently they feel we should keep on paying their bills, even after they've been voted out.

Think about it - what's the difference between being fired from the private sector and voted out of a public sector position?  As far as I can see, it's the amount of people who say "You're outta here!"  George Orwell hit the nail on the head when he wrote: "All animals are equal.  But some animals are more equal than others." 

So again I ask Forsyth County, GA residents - what are you doing at 6pm today? Hopefully I'll see you at the Board of Commissioners meeting.