Posted on 03/15/2009 3:38:32 AM PDT by ritewingwarrior
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is signaling to Congress that the president could support taxing some employee health benefits, as several influential lawmakers and many economists favor, to help pay for overhauling the health care system.
The proposal is politically problematic for President Obama, however, since it is similar to one he denounced in the presidential campaign as “the largest middle-class tax increase in history.” Most Americans with insurance get it from their employers, and taxing workers for the benefit is opposed by union leaders and some businesses.
In television advertisements last fall, Mr. Obama criticized his Republican rival for the presidency, Senator John McCain of Arizona, for proposing to tax all employer-provided health benefits. The benefits have long been tax-free, regardless of how generous they are or how much an employee earns. The advertisements did not point out that Mr. McCain, in exchange, wanted to give all families a tax credit to subsidize the purchase of coverage.
At the time, even some Obama supporters said privately that he might come to regret his position if he won the election; in effect, they said, he was potentially giving up an important option to help finance his ambitious health care agenda to reduce medical costs and to expand coverage to the 46 million uninsured Americans. Now that Mr. Obama has begun the health debate, several advisers say that while he will not propose changing the tax-free status of employee health benefits, neither will he oppose it if Congress does so.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Any reduction in the plan will force the remaining people into a higher cost, pool, which will make more of them drop out. More uninsured people needing the government.
Tax and spend....same old play book.
The next chunk of the next deficit we face. I think my toe hurts. Ouch! I need a grant...
If you walk too much they’ll tax your feet.
Time to overthrow this one and start over.
Looking back at the Beatles, “If you drive a car, I’ll tax the street, If you try to sit, I’ll tax your seat, If you get too cold, I’ll tax the heat, If you take a walk, I’ll tax your feet.......Cause I’m the Taxman, Yea, aaa, I’m the Taxman.
Everyone wants MORE affordable Health Care and Energy. So what does Obama do? He TAXES them! Is this the f-ing change we were hoping for? This country has too many morons. This ain’t rocket science folks, it is simple common sense. We are being run into the ground by a bunch of idiots.
bump
Signed up yesterday to advocate nanny-state policies??
Hmmmmmm.....
In your world, people are taxed for healthcare and denied it unless they meet your criteria.
Have you tried a more liberal site? You need to if you are going to spout this BS.
Self-ping.
I find this interesting. If you look at the European models of state-run healthcare...none of them tax a guy for what he’s putting into the system. Nor do they tax the guy when extra costs at the hospital are involved.
Most families would lessen their coverage in some fashion and thus have less protection. I’m assuming that this is the goal of the plan.
Does this really need to be posted 5 times?
But I am a radical lunatic POPULIST LIBERTARIAN WHITE SUREMACIST GOON!
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