NEWBERRY — Congressman Mick Mulvaney spent time talking with the county’s health care leaders on Monday.
During his visit to Newberry County, Mulvaney stopped at the Newberry County Memorial Hospital where he talked about the budget and health care.
Mulvaney told the group that he did not realize the country was in such bad financial debt.
He explained it as if a family was bringing in $46,000 and spending $78,000 and having another $310,000 in debt.
“It is much worse than people are told,” he said of the debt. “Both parties are to blame.”
He adds that if the country were a business that it would not stay open with losing money each year.
“We have sugar coated it to the folks back home too long,” said Mulvaney of the debt.
Mulvaney says since 1980 the national debt has skyrocketed. Before the 1980s the congress could either decrease spending or increase taxes. But then a third option of borrowing money came into the picture.
“We have lived off debt for most of the last 30 years,” he said.
Mulvaney said one idea he has had was to tax every one person $1 a year to help pay for the Department of Defense but that increase would raise the taxes of half the population and be the biggest tax increase in the nation’s history.
He adds that tough decision has also been put off until after the election and between Nov. 7 and Jan. 3 that as many as 70 members of Congress could be out of a job and the time will be spent in a lame duck session.
On the health care side, Mulvaney said that there are lots of ways to lower health care costs.
But he added, there needs to be a push to “make people care about how healthy they are.”
One idea is to change Medicaid where it can be tailored to meet the needs of the state.
He added that Medicare changes will impact everyone.
After a brief time talking with a host of hospital leaders, Mulvaney talked with the hospital’s top staff and then took a tour of the hospital.
Also while in Newberry, Mulvaney toured Beal Lumber Company between Prosperity and Little Mountain.
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