There is no evidence that health care costs haven't been systematically going up faster than general inflation (assuming the 7.5k/15k is even going to be indexed for the latter, which is a fact not in evidence)?
I've seen less denial of reality in creationism threads.
And if one doesn't limit the tax free nature of that benefit, how do you want to make this tax cut revenue neutral to limit impact on the deficit?
Buckle down and cut wasteful spending elsewhere in the budget.
You are correct. If the threshold is not indexed, inflation will capture more and more employees (and non employees) in the taxability area -- but this is not a difficult concept and we'll have to wait to see the details.
It would seem reasonable to presume the 7500/15000 threshold is in constant dollars. As for HC rising faster than inflation, it is probable that there will be a rosy scenario assumption embraced that a plan like this will in some way slow the price increases.
But if it does not, you're probably being way too paranoid. This subject is now going to be thoroughly focused on by the workforce. If HC inflation (as opposed to general inflation) drives people past the taxability threshold, or is about to, the pressure on legislators would become enormous immediately.
I am noticing that a lot of folks who want to oppose this are doing so because they find holes in it, or an absence of comprehensive address to the entire problem.
My view is that's not its intent. Its intent is strictly and only to create some equivalence of the pretax nature of employee premium payments with the post tax nature of non employee premium payments -- and reality is non-employees are now a majority of the workforce.
Also, I think it has a very very powerful side effect, and that is the Dems want a National Health Care plan with a government agency staffed up to run it. This is the FIRST well advertised manifestation of a Conservative counter to that drumbeat. This is a tax deduction/credit for most people. This is likely going to result in negotiations beginning that will argue over thresholds of income and thresholds of premium payments -- and as soon as that starts the Democrats have lost the ideological war. It will mean the negotiation is over the magnitude of a conservative solution rather than over how many will staff a new agency.