Here Comes The Judge!
Stanley Feld M.D.,FACP,MACE
President Obama has promised that the savings of his healthcare reform plan would be budget neutral. The Congressional Budget office has contradicted his statement by scoring the proposed bills and predicting it will generate at least 1.5 trillion dollars deficit over 10 years. The independent HSI Network scored the House’s initial draft at a heart-stopping $3.5 trillion.
Congress is trying to figure out how to generate increased tax revenue to pay for the healthcare reform plan. The popular press has not discussed the congressional proposals for raising taxes
Congress is going to raise taxes for healthcare reform. The President has not opposed the notion. No one is talking about the real issues. The real issue is to fix the defects in the healthcare system effectively.
Can Americans trust politicians? Americans want universal healthcare, affordable healthcare coverage, access to care and an increase in quality of care. President Obama’s generality promises this. He never goes into the details.
“Senate negotiators had been considering a tax on some employer-provided health benefits.”
The Democrats are trying to figure out who to tax first to cover the 1.5-3.5 trillion dollar deficit that will be created by President Obama’s healthcare reform plan. They have decided to tax the “rich.”
Taxing the rich has not worked in the past for many reasons. The house proposal presently is a surcharge on the rich in addition to raising the tax rate to 39%.
“The House Ways and Means Committee was said to be nearing agreement on an income tax surcharge of 2 percent or more on Americans with the highest incomes – those earning more than $250,000. The surtax would rise for those earning $500,000 and rise again for those earning more than $1 million.”
Tax the rich to help the poor. The rich usually disappear as a taxable entity when this occurs.
One commenter said;
“ Look, the "Rich" don’t pay taxes. The Kennedys don’t pay taxes. Their money is in offshore trusts. George Soris doesn’t pay taxes. Al Gore is making bazillions off his energy soapbox but he’s not paying taxes.
This will all come out of the hides of the middle class, until we have meaningful tax reform.”
The Senate and the House are now fighting over which tax increases should be incorporated into the healthcare bill. I suspect the public will become aware of the tax increases after they are passed.
“A proposed sales tax on sodas and other sugary drinks and a new payroll tax of 0.3 percent to be paid by employees and employers was in favor last week but has gone underground for now.”
There are lots of ideas on how to increase taxes to pay for President Obama’s healthcare reform plan.
“The Senate seemed to be narrowing their focus on a plan that would tax only the most generous employer-provided health plans – those worth $25,000 or more a year – as well as a modified limit on tax deductions proposed by Obama.”
Democrats’ mode of operation is first spend and then tax. I believe all large employers will have their employees buy insurance through the public option. The penalty will cost less than providing healthcare insurance
“Senators are also considering a plan to apply the Medicare payroll tax of 1.45 percent to nonwage income like dividends and capital gains.”
Congress seems to be doing everything in its power to decrease investment incentives in the name of healthcare reform without even realizing what they are doing. Investment incentives have made America strong.
“One tax increase would bar drug companies from deducting the cost of advertisements as a business expense on their corporate tax returns.”
If congress wanted to fix the healthcare system and lower costs they would restrict direct to public advertising completely.
“Another would end a tax break for healthcare flexible spending accounts.”
Democrats in congress are going to increase taxes in multiple ways to pay for President Obama’s healthcare reform.
“Senators don’t like to raise revenues,’’ Baucus said, using a euphemism for tax increases.
The White House has not expressed a position on the surtax, but lawmakers said they had heard no objections so far.
It seems to me the Democrats have not learned anything in the last 50 years.
They have not learned that :
Entitlements are bottomless pits.
The public does not like bottomless pits because it leads to tax increases.
Increasing tax leads to a decrease in economic growth by decreasing innovation and risk taking.
Government’s role should be to make rules that level the playing field for all the stakeholders and then get out of the way. (Adam Smith)
I believe the Democrats are heading for another 1994 congressional debacle without the Republicans doing one smart thing. The Obama healthcare plan is doing nothing to improve in the healthcare system. Congress is going to pass a bill that spends a lot of money and accomplishes nothing
The Obama method lets others do his dirty work. He makes sure it is what he approves as he stays on the high road.
Obama’s chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, who visited the Capitol twice this week to discuss healthcare proposals with House Democrats.
He said the president would prefer that money to pay for the legislation come from within the healthcare system.
But unlike a tax on employer-provided benefits, which Obama opposed during the presidential campaign, a tax on the wealthy would be in keeping with his promise not to raise taxes on Americans earning less than $250,000 a year.
America’s healthcare system’s costs are going to escalate with Obama’s healthcare plan just as they have in Massachusetts. The President will be forced to raise taxes even further.
I am afraid this will not stimulate a faltering economy. It will make it worse. With increasing taxes we will all be on the way toward working for the government.
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The opinions expressed in the blog “Repairing The Healthcare System” are, mine and mine alone. |
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