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Political consultant Dick Morris has been credited with turning around Bill Clinton's campaign, leading to his second term as President. In ...
Read more about Dick Morris.
Political consultant Dick Morris has been credited with turning around Bill Clinton's campaign, leading to his second term as President. In ...
Read more about Dick Morris.
Obama's Health Tax -- on the Middle Class
Dick Morris
The elderly were the first group to turn against Obama's health care
proposals, alienated by the huge $500 billion cut in Medicare in his
plan. Now the young and the uninsured may be the next demographic
group to jump ship, concerned about the huge premiums they will be
required to pay for health insurance.
The requirement that everybody buy health insurance will impose a massive tax on all who now are uninsured. The Congressional Budget Office projects that the middle income uninsured will have to pay an average of more than 15 percent of their income in premiums, deductibles and co-payments under the plan.
For the poor, there will still be Medicaid. But for those individuals earning more, the required premium payments will be worse than any tax increase. For example, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that when the program is fully implemented -- by 2016 -- an individual earning $32,400 a year would have to pay $4,100 of his income in premiums before getting any subsidy. The CBO projects that, with deductibles and co-payments, he'd have to shell out $5,600 annually or 17.3 percent of his income. A family of four making $80,000 a year would have to pay about $10,500 in premiums alone. With deductibles and co-payments, it could rise to $15,000, or just under 20 percent.
And if they don't buy health insurance, they will face federal fines that begin to approach these same premium levels. They won't be able to buy what they truly need -- catastrophic insurance at a lower premium -- because that won't satisfy the mandate in the program.
The young and uninsured are going to catch onto what this bill is all about. In two sentences: It is designed to make healthy people who don't have health insurance -- and may neither need nor want it -- to buy it nevertheless in order to use their premiums to subsidize those who need it. And it cuts Medicare to help subsidize their premiums.
Obama has pledged only to increase taxes on the rich. But his program, essentially, taxes the core of the middle class (those making between $30,000 and $80,000 a year). It will require them to buy not the policy they need or want, but to overpay in order to pick up the slack for others who need the extra coverage.
Just as cap-and-trade is a carbon tax in disguise, so health care reform is a health care tax dressed up as a program to cover the uninsured.
But it is now clear that, with the Sen. Max Baucus Bill, the debate moves over to Obama's left flank, as the required payments on the uninsured rise. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., a certified liberal, put it nicely: "It's very clear that the driving issue of this debate is affordability, particularly for middle-class folks. And the Democratic caucus is very much committed to getting this issue right."
If the Democrats raise the subsidies to the uninsured to lower these premium payments, they will end up in a box of their own making. No matter how they get the money, they offend supporters that they need to pass the bill:
a) If they get the money from more Medicare cuts, they alienate the elderly still further;
b) If they get it from raising the deficit, they lose moderates;
c) If they increase taxes to do it, they lose blue dogs;
d) And if they don't increase the subsidies, they lose the uninsured themselves.
Having the uninsured themselves -- the stated object of Obama's compassion -- turn against the program would be the unkindest and most lethal cut of all.
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To find out more about Dick Morris and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate web page at www.creators.com. Distributed By Creators.Com
Copyright 2009 Dick Morris And Eileen Mcgann
This news arrived on: 09/21/2009
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Posted Comments:
10-02-2009 15:27
JCE wrote:
Hey Morris. What middle class are you talking about? The republicans have all but obliterated them already.
09-23-2009 23:50
Julie wrote:
JCE , Casey42& Emory
God bless you three, you are all so right.
09-23-2009 01:28
JCE wrote:
casey42
Quite right. It isn't the government, or its size that is the problem. It is the people who let the special interests control the government, on all levels. The constitution is a remarkable document, and tells us how to do it. Vote sensibly on the local level, and take back control of the cities and states. Stop voting for democrats, republicans, and professionals. Insist on a balanced budget, no more borrowing or printing, and no lobbyists. The people are the check and balance to the system, and are refusing to do their part. Obama is trying to take on the insurance company. And where are the people? Backing the insurance company, because the thinkers are confused.
09-22-2009 15:00
casey42 wrote:
Thinker you are the epitome of nonthinkers, are you seriously suggesting that the next huricaine the federal government should do nothing? Do you really think that the government should not provide for the elderly workers in the US that have reached retirement age, do you really believe that an injured person should not receive any benefits at all?
09-22-2009 06:31
Thinker wrote:
Govt. Control=Health Care
There is only one thing needed to solve a great number of problems in this land, and help to decrease the deficit is this - Get the GOVT. OUT!!!!!! of most all the "Good Gut deaks" all the hand-outs == they are endless, let each work for his own and care for his own and the good old American way will help the helpless as they did in the past. Puriitan ethic "If you don't work - you don't eat. I know orphanages, county farms and all had problems galore, abuses even - but don't remember reading of "the essential boy friend who doesn't work any if at all - becoming frustrated because he could not sleep or heaven forbid see the entertainment out on the village green and just grabbing babies and small children of his "provider of all - food, shelder and etc!!!!" up against a wall, refrigerator or whatever is close to shut it up; causing death or irrepairable damage to the child. We need to get back to allowing people to be responsible by not making it too easy to to be irreresponsible.
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