Posted on 07/15/2009 8:28:55 AM PDT by reaganaut1
House Democrats on Tuesday unveiled sweeping health-care legislation that would hit all but the smallest businesses with a penalty equal to 8% of payroll if they fail to provide health insurance to workers.
The House bill, which also would impose new taxes on the wealthy estimated to bring in more than $544 billion over a decade, came as lawmakers in the Senate raced against a self-imposed deadline of this week to introduce a bill in time for action this summer.
Senators face a tougher battle because they are striving for a bipartisan bill. Key senators are weighing a combination of several more-modest fund-raising provisions, including some new fees on health-care industries.
Under the House measure, employers with payrolls exceeding $400,000 a year would have to provide health insurance or pay the 8% penalty. Employers with payrolls between $250,000 and $400,000 a year would pay a smaller penalty, and those less than $250,000 would be exempt. Certain small firms would get tax credits to help buy coverage.
The relatively low thresholds for penalties triggered the sharpest criticism yet from employer groups, who said the burden on small business is too high and doesn't do enough to help them expand insurance coverage.
"This bill costs too much, it covers too few and it has way too much government involvement," said Michelle Dimarob, a lobbyist with the National Federation of Independent Business, the main trade group for small firms. "Small business doesn't want any of those things."
According to 2006 data from the federation, businesses with between five and nine workers, representing about one million employers, had an average payroll of around $375,000 a year. A report from the Kaiser Family Foundation found that only about half of firms with three to nine workers offered health benefits in 2008.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
Let the democrats have total ownership of every incremental step taken to destroy America.
Instead, weak-kneed, spineless republicans give democrats cover and allow them to claim bipartisan support.
As with pension and profit-sharing plans, the government will consider the separate businesses as one and the same, under one “controlling entity.”
I am trying to eat my lunch. After reading that I am getting indigestion.
A PENALTY for being successful! Only in America!
Or you could reduce your payroll to under $250K and remain exempt...costing Americans’ jobs.
But don’t worry, the Gov’t will have their back. More folks on the dole means more Dem voters in 2010.
Bingo! Why hire any employee in the USA to do any non-physical labor when you can contract with someone in India to do the same thing for much less. Right now we have companies in New England that advertise college educated software engineers with a fully loaded hourly cost of $12.00. The engineers are in India of course.
To put it in perspective, the health insurance premium alone for an engineer with a family in New England is about $10.00 per hour.
Its insane to increase costs in this country when we have to compete against businesses worldwide -- many with much lower costs already.
Business people know how to play this. You divide your business into two businesses. The “other pocket” game.
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BINGO, some people were talking about that at a meeting I had this morning.
4th choice...... what if millions just refuse to play?
In 20 years, Obama will still be our Dear Leader
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If Americans rolled over and let that ever happen, this is not my country anymore.I will watch from afar.
Yeah, they will do the “if you have more than 1 business, the combined total is” or some nonsense.
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Put the other business in another family members name. There are so many ways around that it’s ridiculous and people will work around it.
Now there will be fewer wealthy, and so they will have to redefine “wealthy.” Eventually it will hit the ordinary person, and that is what they want.
Democrats don’t care about the working people. They want to make us all dependent on government so that we will vote democrat.
Not me. I will NEVER vote for ANY democrat ANYTIME EVER.
Have a great day, all.
But if the cost of private group insurane goes up over 8% of payroll because of all the required new coverages, ie, pre-existing conditions, mental, dental, etc., then what will happen is that the business will pay the 8% to the government and cede the health care system to the government.
A neat way to ensure that nationalized health insurance is foregone conclusion.
I don't expect that Obama will permit this to occur. I expect that ACORN will make sure that conservatives are not elected, and more liberals are. Then, I expect that the unspent stimulus money will be released to create a Civilian Security Force that will be used to pacify the country when elections are canceled or stolen.
In 20 years, Obama will still be our Dear Leader."
I think you are correct. Combine this with all of the other anti-competitive, tax everything, anti energy develop, etc. initiatives and Obama looks like he is deliberately trying to collapse the economy. It sound a lot like the Cloward-Piven Strategy to bring about a new society and governance for Dear Leader.
If anyone is wondering what that 8% is called,
it is normally called “Profit”.
Kiss it goodby, it’s not part of the “NEW” economy.
This is going to be no different than the Medicare Tax....I'm sure the intention is to make one large program that you pay into as soon as you draw a paycheck or your employer does...like Unemployment Ins..
You won't have to. ACORN's imaginary three voters will offset your vote and give a two vote lead to the communist candidate.
“A report from the Kaiser Family Foundation found that only about half of firms with three to nine workers offered health benefits in 2008.”
Because profit margins vary according to the type of business you’re in. Just because you have 9 workers with a payroll of over $ 250,000 doesn’t mean you’re necessarily profitable. Or even if you are profitable, the profit margin could be minuscule. Again, it depends on the type of business you’re in. Now slap in an 8 % tax and you could very well be losing money, or forced to subsidize the business with personal funds. Of course, Democrats who think money grows on trees, just assume that you’re rich and profitable, and that you’ll somehow figure out a way to make the payments
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