Hassig responds to Doheny on Medicare

I reported yesterday on Matt Doheny's ideas for revamping Medicare. I offered Green Party candidate Don Hassig a chance to weigh in, too, but he didn't get back in time for the print version.

Hassig's response to Doheny's commentary is pasted below. He doesn't really address Medicare specifically.

"I am in favor of creating a federal health care program that provides free health care to every American citizen," Hassig said. "We can fund this health care by enacting legislation that imposes a federal sales tax on all Wall Street sales. We can make additional funds available for providing free health care by downsizing the military to an all defensive purposes force.

"Much of the sickness found in America today can be traced to unnecessary exposures to pollutant toxicants in our food, water and air. An essential part of a new era in health care in America is the creation of an Environmental Health Education Service tasked with providing educational outreach to every American citizen on the subjects of pollutant exposure disease outcome and pollutant exposure minimization.

"America must begin to make full use of scientific knowledge to prevent diseases caused by avoidable exposures to chemicals and agents that are associated with increased disease risk."