Posted on 07/09/2009 7:57:39 AM PDT by EagleUSA
WASHINGTON – House Democrats at work on health legislation are narrowing in on an income tax surcharge on the highest-paid wage earners to help pay the cost of subsidizing insurance for the 50 million who lack it.
Pushing to complete a comprehensive health care bill by Friday and bring it up for committee votes next week, House Democrats abandoned earlier money-raising proposals, including a payroll tax. They planned to meet behind closed doors Thursday to fine-tune the details.
The action in the House stood in contrast to the Senate, where Democrats edged away from their goal of passing health care legislation by early August amid heightening partisan controversy over tax increases and a proposed new government role in providing insurance to consumers.
As discussed in the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, the surtax would apply to individuals with adjusted gross income of more than $200,000 and couples over $250,000, according to officials involved in the discussion. Most spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks were private.
In addition, key lawmakers are expected to call for a tax or fee equal to a percentage of a worker's salary on employers who do not offer health benefits.
Ways and Means Chairman Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., has said his committee needs to come up with $600 billion in new taxes to deliver on President Barack Obama's goal of sweeping changes to the nation's health care system to bring down costs and cover the 50 million uninsured. Hundreds of billions of dollars more would come from cuts to Medicare and Medicaid to pay for legislation expected to cost around $1 trillion over 10 years.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
How about for those of us who do NOT want the govt to take care of us?
What happens when the money fromsoaking the rich does not meet projections? And since the program is already in place, and you cannot end it, you have to come up with the money somehow? The surcharge tax starts taxing the middle-class man. I guarantee this will happen.
Not the individual small businesses, necessarily but both the "working rich" and the "trust-funders."
Right on the money!!!!
“Hundreds of billions of dollars more would come from cuts to Medicare and Medicaid to pay for legislation expected to cost around $1 trillion over 10 years”
Can we spell r-a-t-i-o-n-i-n-g?
I just hope & pray that the Gelding Old Party gets a testicle & spine implant in the meantime!
Semper Fi,
Kelly
AP does it again:
Taxing the Rich? No, just people who make a higher wage, small business owners, etc.
50 million people without health insurance? That figure includes illegals, people who can get Medicare and don’t take advantage of it and people who choose to spend their $$ on things other than insurance.
Tax the rich
Feed the poor
Till there are no
Rich no more...
You have to wonder how these “reporters” can actually write this stuff with straight faces.
Just what the economy needs to recover... taxation
democrats are a one-trick pony
when will people wake up?
The bad news is- you are unemployed and your home values and retirement savings are draining and worthless
the good news is- you get a free physical once a year, and maybe pain pills or some other stuff if some TSA-transplant govt health worker drone reviews your medical record and thinks you need it
These people are running the wealthy out of the country at record amounts.
Exactly. Stop calling them “the rich”. I am not rich.
Can we spell r-a-t-i-o-n-i-n-g?
:::::::
The Obama DeathCare system does not care how it gets funded. They do not care WHO OR WHAT THEY HURT. They do not care about your healthcare or if you really get any. Destroying the best healthcare system in the world is of no concern.
All they care about is getting VOTES from the dregs that want to get FREE health care from a socialist government. VOTES AND POWER. It is about building the VOTER ARMY. That is all it is about. Buying the vote with money they do not have, and have to steal and borrow.
Soon you will be called rich if you have 20.00USD in your pocket.
And when there’s no more “so-called rich” then what???
We know what that means.
“MEDICARE savings” come from things like - limiting treatment and medication
He cited elderly people who now come to his office with chronic knee pain, inoperable, and get cortisone shots in their knees to relieve the pain, and so they can walk
Now, new MEDICARE restriction - they can get only ONE KNEE treated. Not both.
Two bad knees- make a second appointment. If it is permitted.
Soon, he predicts, doctors will be restricted to offering patients only several shots, maybe 2 a year
Wake up America. Will Congress have this health plan for itself and its families? will barak?
Govt healthcare, delivered with the compassion of the IRS, the efficiency of the Postal Service.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.