If you want to know what Obama and the Congressional Democrats could do to aid state and local governments in an equitable fashion, read this. Tom Suozzi proposes that in lieu of other state and local government bailouts the federal government to pick up the full tab for Medicaid (eliminating the state government matching share), allow more people (especially the newly unemployed) to be covered, and require cost reductions, rather than keep the current structure intact and merely add more money temporarily. “For a modest investment of $50 billion, our new President could deliver real and immediate relief to state and local governments, and ultimately our taxpayers. The benefits would be distributed equally to every state, and we would take a big step toward achieving his vision of a comprehensive health care.” Why does it take a Suozzi to state the obvious — that rather than having separate funds of money shifting all over the place in a series of special deal bailouts, federal-state fiscal relations and the government health care finance system should be restructured? Perhaps because his proposal would not benefit those who have lucrative health benefits, who are powerful, and might limit the amount of money the health care industry can receive.