Posted on 01/17/2010 8:31:54 AM PST by reaganaut1
Q. ... [W]hy is it fair for individuals who have so-called Cadillac plans that have been negotiated through collective bargaining agreements to be exempt until 2018 from the proposed excise tax, whereas those who might be in the exact same situation but are not part of labor unions -- even if they want to be and their company resisted, or many they're in right-to-work states -- why is it fair for one group to not get a tax and others to --
MR. GIBBS: I would say this. I've asked to see what numbers they can run. We're talking about an exceedingly small number of people I think that the premise of your impact would impact.
Q. It's a big tax, though, 40 percent.
MR. GIBBS: Well, it's a 40 percent tax on the insurance company for the excess of their policy over the threshold, right? So the new threshold is at $24,000, right? So --
Q. But if it wasn't a big deal, the labor unions wouldn't have pushed so hard to be exempt from it until 2018.
MR. GIBBS: No, I understand. What I'm just -- it's not a 40 percent tax. It's a 40 percent tax above a threshold on an insurance company, not on an individual or a family.
Q. Well, I meant it's not an inconsiderable tax.
MR. GIBBS: I would say that obviously there is -- just like there is for the insurance fee, just as there are for fees on manufacturers and other businesses, there's a phase-in for this fee over a five-year period of time, just as there is, again, on -- the administration did not believe it made any sense to treat business and industry and insurance companies different than they treat workers.
(Excerpt) Read more at whitehouse.gov ...
The questions above are from Jake Tapper. Later in the press conference, "Chuck" (Todd?) follows up:
Q. I didn't quite get your answer to Jake's question. Are you -- were you trying to suggest that union members did not get a special arrangement with this -- with the health care deal that occurred, that they don't get -- that their plans don't have a special benefit by delaying the tax until 2018?
MR. GIBBS: Well, only if you consider that -- only if you think the insurance industry fee that phases in between 2011 and 2017.
I alluded to this yesterday, Keith. There are -- as there are in a lot of big pieces of legislation, there's a transition period for how things are done. There's a fee on medical device manufacturers that is phased in over a seven-year period of time between 2011 and 2018. There's an insurance fee that's phased in on the insurance industry between 2011 and 2017. These plans -- the tax also -- there's a phase-in period of five years for this tax, as well.
Q. So you're saying it's comparable to what these other terms are.
MR. GIBBS: I'm saying we are treating workers just as industry, business and the insurance industry are being dealt with.
Yes.
Q. Some workers -- the union workers.
Q. The ones that aren't in the unions.
MR. GIBBS: Well, again, we discussed the very slim number of people that that would involve.
Q. Aren't all these essentially gifts by the President to special interest groups?
MR. GIBBS: No.
Q. I mean, isn't this -- didn't what we have in the White House was very typical negotiations with a special interest group, which is the unions --
MR. GIBBS: No. Keith, we have transition periods for how different things are treated in the bill. There's a transition period in dealing with the insurance industry and in dealing with another -- a number of phases that -- of aspects that have to be phased in as a part of this bill.
Q. So essentially now union officials got their pound of flesh, too, in the bill by acting as a special interest --
MR. GIBBS: If you have an answer to the question --
Q. I mean, the President promised not to let special interests into the White House to influence legislation. Isn't that what happened here?
MR. GIBBS: No.
Q. The question is, is it fair that some are exempted and some are not, even if the number of those who are not exempted in those initial five years is a slim number?
MR. GIBBS: We believe the agreement is structured in a way that is fair, just as it is fair to other aspects of the bill that have to be phased in.
The lib media is pissed about this because many have these so-called caddy plans, and, like unions, don’t make “Wall Street money.”
This hurts them in their wallet.
Not even as good a liar as the oily Bill Clinton.
Clinton’s hugely over-rated lying skills, MIGHT have been sophisticated and clever enough to fool most second graders...the ones in Mrs. Smith’s slow learners group.
I have a modest proposal: we (the citizenry) form the American Anti-Tax Union. Anyone can join for union dues of say $1.00 per decade, and the union will undertake to negotiate a minor change in health benefits with every employer (say, increase the deductible by $10 and increase the reimbursement rate by 0.5%). Then everyone’s health benefits will be the result of a collective bargaining agreement.
I guess those who have these "cadillac" plans without expemption don't work? That's a neat trick. How do they afford it?
Gibbs = useful idiot
where would the Obamanation be without such a devoted and pitiful flack to defend the indefensible?
I like the way you think. Attack the Libs with their own tools.
This guy is very poor at lying, and on top of that, he is smug and haughty- a world-class a******.
This administration’s #1 and most immediate problem is the need for more convincing liars.
MR. GIBBS: No.
YOU LIE!
A teaching moment. Now I understand the meaning of the word..Gibberish.
“This administration’s #1 and most immediate problem is the need for more convincing liars.”
####
Ha!
Given the idiocy of the voting populace, I’m not so sure about the need for convincing liars.
The LiarInChief is a hollow, unaccomplished Ivy League strutting peacock, who via nothing but repetitive, vacuous platitudes was able to convince a substantial majority of the American public to vote for him.
“This administration’s #1 and most immediate problem is the need for more convincing liars.”
####
Ha!
Given the idiocy of the voting populace, I’m not so sure about the need for convincing liars.
The LiarInChief is a hollow, unaccomplished Ivy League strutting peacock, who via nothing but repetitive, vacuous platitudes was able to convince a substantial majority of the American public to vote for him.
“FUBO”
Yeah, sometimes it all comes down to that. :)
“Caddilac” is a trademark of Gov’t Motors Inc., used with permission, of course.
Gibbs cannot utter a single coherent sentence. Neither could his namesake from Baghdad, who was infinitely more entertaining and credible.
MR. GIBBS: No.
The next comment should have been -
"Q. Well, if you are going to so clearly and blatantly lie to the press corps, why should we ever believe anything else you have to say?"
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