Tommy Thompson says he has so many clients these days that he can't even remember them all. But it's pretty clear that Tommy knows who's paying his salary while he ponders a race for the US Senate.
Thompson, appearing on Neil Cavuto's show on Fox, said there's a major problem with the new health care bill "that's gotta be fixed or it will have a detrimental impact." On his clients, that is.
Thompson is shilling for corporations that now can double dip by providing prescription drug plans for their retirees under Medicare Part D.
The scheme, cooked up by George W. Bush and then-Secretary Thompson of HHS, gives corporations a subsidy of $1,300 per retiree for continuing to offer the drug plans. But here's the kicker: It also lets the corporations claim the subsidy as a tax deduction. This sounds like I must have it wrong, I know, so here's an explanation from a credible source.
Sly in the Morning, in a segment on his Madison radio show outed Tommy and played clips from his appearance with Cavuto. Tommy is outraged that the Obama plan would eliminate that corporate welfare, worth about $1-billion a year in double dipping to clients of Tommy's firm, Akin Gump -- firms lilke Boeing, Honeywell, and AT&T.
Eliminating that corporate loophole is the biggest problem with health care reform, to hear Tommy tell it. Do you think that's what the voters of Wisconsin are worried about -- the ones with no health insurance coverage, who've been turned down because they have a pre-existing illness, or who can't possibly afford the ever-higher premiums, or who are choosing between paying for prescriptions and food?
If Tommy actually runs, we'll find out in November.