by Julia Rosen [courtesy of Working Californians blogs]

Lost in the shuffle of the discussion about the rival health care plans is what it would mean for workers. Where are the greatest differences felt? Most people who are already working and middle to upper income earners would not notice much of a difference. However, the same cannot be said for those just above the poverty line. The Merc went through a few hypotheticals today:

Employed, but underpaid and uninsured: Consider a waiter making $27,000 who is uninsured, either by choice or because his employer doesn't provide insurance. If the governor has his way, that person could find himself having to buy insurance - everyone would have to carry insurance under Schwarzenegger's plan - without a government subsidy. (Only people making less than $25,525 would qualify for government help under his plan, a threshold Democrats say is too low.)

The Democratic health plan would put that person in a better spot: Either his employer would have to start offering insurance, or he could buy benefits through a state pool, paying no more than $1,350 a year out of pocket.

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[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

With voting for the February California about five months away, the heavily-funded presidential campaign of Sen. Barack Obama still hasn't hired any California staff while rival Sen. Hillary Clinton's operation has been going full steam for months. Over at Calitics, the progressive Democratic website, the frustraiton with the Obama campaign is starting to boil over. Calitics regular Juls Rosen posted this "Where's Obama's Campaign in California on Tuesday," and the comments are still rolling in.
 
Here are a few of the comments: