Question of the day: how is children's health care like slavery?

Hands down, the most repulsive comments of last night's debate on the House floor came from Representative Rob Schaaf (R-St Joseph), who said that providing health care to poor children through SCHIP is just like slavery.

Schaaf:

When government forces a person to work and pay the fruit of their hard earned labor and gives it to the benefit of someone else -- and we have proof people who have SCHIP program can, because they pay the premium now -- that is slavery. That is what it is.

For some context, this is the program that Schaaf says would enslave Missourians:

Nixon and the House Democrats had proposed eliminating premiums for enrollees whose families earned up to 225 percent of the federal poverty level — $3,975 a month for a family of four. For families earning between 225 and 300 percent of the poverty level, premiums would have been limited to $50 a month.

The changes would have provided insurance to about 20,000 more children, according to budget documents and the state Department of Social Services.

Currently, families earning more than 150 percent of the poverty level pay premiums ranging from $12 to $334 or more a month, depending on income and family size.

I'm still looking for audio of Schaaf's original rant, but Jason Rosenbaum has posted of Rep. Kiki Curls' (D-Kansas City) furious response.

Curls' ability to refrain from profanity in her discussion with Schaaf was commendable.