When I saw this, I immediately thought of Dave Stokes’ classic post about people who don’t seek government assistance. Here’s the Post-Dispatch’s summary of what Nixon said about uninsured children in MIssouri:

Most are eligible for coverage under the state’s Children’s Health Insurance Program but haven’t signed up.

“That’s unacceptable,” Nixon said. He promised to start identifying eligible families, who can make up to three times the federal poverty limit, or $63,600 for a family of four.

Now’s a good time to review what Dave said:

Some types, generally of the left-leaning persuasion, just can not understand that people eligible for government aid might still prefer to make it by on their own.

And for the good news, here are Nixon’s words on reducing the number of Missouri state employees:

In total, my FY10 budget proposes the elimination of more than 1,300 positions. We will cut nearly $200 million from overhead by eliminating these positions and cutting bureaucracy.

I’m glad he isn’t using the economic situation as an excuse to add government jobs.