$5,317 – too rich to receive medicaid according to the Governor who spent that on one trip.

Let them eat dirt

The Republican Governor who spent over $5000 of taxpayers money travelling to see his son play a sports game thinks that level of salary should disqualify you from medicaid.

The man who gave 16,000 of New Jersey’s richest residents a tax cut worth over $1billion a year wants to gut the program provided to 23,000 of the poorest residents in the State.

Christie, who was the keynote speaker at the recent National Republicans $1000 a plate dinner is proposing to slash Medicaid eligibility from the current maximum income of $24,645 to $5,317 a year for a family of three. This from the same Party that fought tooth and nail a plan to extend healthcare to 45 million extra Americans.

Republicans have lauded him with praise and believe that he represents the future of their Party.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie catapulted onto the national stage when he defeated incumbent Governor Jon Corzine after a bitter campaign. As governor, Christie has proven himself a true conservative, taking on big union bosses and working tirelessly to reduce budget deficits in New Jersey without raising taxes. His ability to balance the will of the people with New Jersey politics has turned him into a leader that Republicans across the country support, as he made appearances for many high profile campaigns this past election cycle.

Adults in a family of three that makes as little as $103 a week would earn too much to qualify for health care provided by Medicaid under the plan proposed by Christie. $5,317 is a third of the poverty level. Never mind the uninsured worker employed full time for minimum wage, they wouldn’t qualify, under the Christie plan even a parent working half-time for minimum wage would fail to qualify.

The only other way to qualify would be to go on welfare, creating an impossible poverty trap. If you leave welfare you better find a job with good health coverage, or you are on your own.

Remember this man is the Republican dream candidate. The future of the GOP.