Posted on 07/17/2009 9:46:22 PM PDT by Mount Athos
Three of the five Congressional committees working on legislation to reinvent the nation’s health care system delivered bills this week along the lines proposed by President Obama. But instead of celebrating their success, many Democrats were apprehensive, nervous and defensive.
Even as Democratic leaders and the White House insisted that the nation was closer than ever to landmark changes in the health care system, they faced basic questions about whether some of their proposals might do more harm than good.
And while senior Democrats vowed to press ahead to meet Mr. Obama’s deadline of having both chambers pass bills before the summer recess, some in their ranks, nervous about the prospect of raising taxes or proceeding without any Republican support, were pleading to slow down.
To help finance coverage of the uninsured, the House bill would impose a surtax on high-income people and a payroll tax — as much as 8 percent of wages — on employers who do not provide health insurance to workers.
Mr. Polis said these taxes, combined with the scheduled increase in tax rates resulting from the expiration of Bush-era tax cuts, would have a perverse effect. “Some successful family-owned businesses would be taxed at higher rates than multinational corporations,” he said.
In a letter to the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, Mr. Polis and 20 other freshman Democrats said they were “extremely concerned that the proposed method of paying for health care reform will negatively impact small businesses, the backbone of the American economy.”
But the director of the Congressional Budget Office, Douglas W. Elmendorf, testified on Thursday that doing so would come at a steep cost and that the proposals would not curb the rise in health spending by the federal government, which he called “unsustainable.”
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Obama is all about Obama and trying to rush and bully everyone to do what he wants. This man is not what America is about at all.
Good. Very good.
The ‘RATS aren’t half as weary as we Americans are. We’re tired of all of this Commie BS.
You can sense the Democrats HOPING the Republicans stop them, so they can cry that those mean Republicans prevented healthcare reform. But of course, the Dems are in the driver's seat now, and they can't sit on their asses and do nothing forever, as Kennedy has, and bitch about the Republicans stopping them.
The Dems have the car keys now, and they are afraid of having to answer for their actions.
Obama and cohorts are doing to this country what the 9/11 terrorists tried but failed.
It’s so bad that it’s difficult to comprehend....
And answer for them they will, regardless of how the votes go. The ideas that have been brought forward are so repugnant that they will pay whether they vote for it or not.
The game is anew isn’t it? The old playbook isn’t going to work. It’s like the dog chasing the car while hoping his master (whose hand he bit off in the last election) will jerk the leash just before he sinks his teeth into the spinning tire - the spinning tire shaped like an “O”.
Man! I can smell the flop-sweat from here.
Every day that goes by...
Especially after Mr. Elemendorf of the CBO slammed it.
They should proceed boldly and drive the nation off a cliff. They have the power now and they should use it ruthlessly. If a depression ensues, they can always tell their constituents how well the economy is doing and how happy the populace is. The state run media will echo this line until the people believe it. And for most of their constituents, that won’t take very long.
Obama is all about Obama and trying to rush and bully everyone to do what he wants. This man is not what America is about at all.
____________________
0bama has absolutely no concept of what it means to be an American. 0bama is an enemy of America. He hates America.
They own the issue. Let it sink them.
The tire snaps the dog’s neck when his teeth grip. Everything communism does; backfires.
You've hit on the real danger for them here--it's not just about one vote, it's about the "storyline" insiders are always babbling about.
This whole thing reminds voters of the Republican storyline about the Dems: They can't be trusted with your money, they will tax the hell out of you, they will try to control your life, tax-and-spend, etc.
Bush's overspending was one thing, but when voters have no other choice, they'll go with the Republicans, who at least will go for budget and tax cuts SOMEtimes, as opposed to the Dems, who have been let off the leash and revealed their true selves since the last election.
Yes, it's the exact opposite of having the courage of one's convictions.
It's the only logical choice--the libs have all the power, so go ahead, show us what your perfect world is.
The libs are like bratty kids who are always bitching about their parents, and now it's the morning when dad opens the door and says "OK, you're right, you'd do much better making your own decisions--there's the door, have a good life."
He's just like the guy behind the curtain in Wizard of Oz--you almost don't hate him, you feel embarrassed that you let yourself be snowed by this little nothing. (Or in our case, that our fellow Americans were snowed by him.)
God Bless America! If it's to be, let it begin.
Very true. Though, I have some doubts that the Republicans are ready to take full advantage of it, which can cause problems. We’ll see...
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