The Democrat leadership of the House of Representatives now wants to pay for H.R.3200 — the House healthcare bill — by charging a tax on the so-called Cadillac healthcare plans. This surtax is something that has been talked about in the Senate and forms an integral part of the Baucus bill, but this is the first time that House leaders have broached this revenue idea for inclusion in H.R.3200.
The idea, a classic class warfare styled policy, would tax what Congress considers high-end healthcare plans, purportedly only hitting “the rich.” But it is highly possible that this “rich man’s” surtax might also apply to millions of union members that have traded pay raises for higher levels of benefits over the last decade.
This surtax idea is one of the reasons that many of the unions had been pushing for the public option. Unions chiefs felt that the surtax would unduly affect their membership and that the public option would give union members a “free” place to go if they had to cut back on benefits or what have you.
Recently the administration has been trying to step back from the public option idea in order to make passage of Obamacare easier because so many Americans have come out against the public option. Consequently, many unions have stopped pushing for the public option in deference to pressure from the White House. One exception, though, has been the AFL-CIO, likely because its membership will really be hit hard by this surtax provision. On Sept. 22, Politico reported that AFL-CIO head Richard Trumka would fight against the surtax policy.
It is hard to imagine why the unions are bending over for this so easily? If this supposed rich man’s surtax is truly instituted and it does end up affecting unions, it really would hurt their membership. Of course, many expect that Congress will put provisions in the bill (and in some cases have already) that excludes unions from this tax. Still, no matter what it is, any provision put in a bill cannot be expected to be the end of the question. What’s in this bill is not in any way binding on any future Congress and cannot prevent a future Congress from taking out the union exclusions and opening that tax right on them regardless of what the unions think will happen. Once Obamacare is passed and it is found to be many times more expensive than it is claimed it will be, Congress will be sorely tempted to take out the union exclusions no matter how much the unions spend on pliant Democrats to prevent it. It is rare, indeed, when anyone can long stand in the way of Congress in search of a tax hike.
This surtax presents the left with a moral dilemma, too. Many on the far left hate “the rich” and want to tax the heck out of them to give everyone else “free” stuff. This has been a long-time sentiment among the far left, we all know. But recently, the far left has also claimed that healthcare is a “civil right.” So here is the problem: how can Congress put a confiscatory tax on a “civil right,” even if it does affect only the so-called rich? If healthcare is a civil right, taxing it for rich people would be little different than, say, requiring rich black people to pay a high tax in order to vote while allow poorer blacks to vote without being taxed at all? A leftist that supports this high tax and thinks that healthcare is a civil right is acting the hypocrite.
Tags: dailydose, The Winning Line
[...] just that, the not all unions are so happy with Congress’ current plans. We discussed this last month when we reported that the various propositions to tax so-called Cadillac healthcare plans has [...]
Here is the new left wing talking point to fool the American people into thinking that their government takeover of Health Care is justified by imposing the Individual Mandate to buy Health Care from government dictated plans!
It tries to convince people that they need to allow the government to use FORCE to make people buy the government run Health Insurance:
“I am not as upset about the individual mandate as others around here. Changes are, it will not affect my life. But it will affect the life of irresponsible people who pass off their medical bills to people like me. Let’s face it. As a society we have made a decision that we are not going to let people die or go untreated just because they decided not to purchase health insurance and instead opted to spend their money in other ways. So they get treated and when they can’t pay for the bill, we are forced to pick up the tab. That’s why I am not as upset as others here about making people buy insurance. Philosophically, I find the idea of mandates abhorrent. However, the pragmatist in me realizes that we either make these people buy the insurance or I will continue to pay their bills. I vote for the former.”
I heard EXACTLY the same line from liberal callers on Levin and Boortz radio show….
And the same talking PT from Juan Williams on Oreilly on FOX….
This is a phony appeal to people’s sense of guilt (we don’t want people dying in the streets, FALSE of course) and envy (We are paying their costs, YA all 1% of them! Far less then the premium and tax increase I will be getting from Obamacare)!
We cant let these lies stand!
The left is using that as their counter-offense talking point to push people to support the Individual MANDATE since it is the KEY to their take over….
Notice how they are co-opting the language of conservatives using the words “choice” and “responsibility” and “private Health Insurance” but it is all lies!
Individual Mandates to buy private insurance sound like a “free market” solution and “individual responsibility” but in this context they are not – they are simply a front for a government run system. Many conservatives can be easily fooled by this faux “private” front (Mitt Romney was) .
The conservative hosts where all struggling to combat these talking points because they don’t have the facts!
We Patriots need to call and email these talk shows and get the real facts to our media and representatives’ so they can rebut this FALSE PROBLEM!
Make no mistake, the left is going all out to fool the American people with this new lie!
The left is using that as their counteroffensive talking point to push people to support the MANDATE….
Here is an AP article I found today:
“People playing the odds on health care over costs”
http://apnews.excite.com/article/20090928/D9B0AI7G4.html
They are trying to paint this heavy-handed government action to force people to buy a private product as a “practical” choice. This leftist counteroffensive to ROB us of our rights as a free born citizen to make our own choices!
These people are being rational with their money and the left wants to FORCE THEIR OPINION ON THEM! They are going to tell us to buy their government Health Insurance or go to jail!
Here are the real facts about the so-called “Free rider” talking point!
(1) Uncompensated care you cite is 1% of total annual HC costs! This problem is SOOO SMALL in the trillions being spent its laughable! So you want to turn our HC system over to the FED GOVT for 1% of the cost and less then 3% of the population who doesn’t choose to buy HC insurance!
Look at your Health Insurance Bill, figure out what 1% is – not much! And far, far, far less then how much the FED GOVT will drive up premium costs with bs regulation, fees and taxes!
The 1% is a small cost to pay to keep my liberty, right to choose to purchase health insurance, and to KEEP THE FEDS out!
(2) You presuppose ALL uninsured people don’t PAY the BILL for their medical care! Again, FALSE! Most people do try to pay, up to 75%. Some people actually save and pay out of their saving or pocket. You fall for the typical arrogant thinking – that your neighbor IS not doing the right thing when in fact most are. You would pay for your HC. Again, we want to take away rights based on false information and a small percentage of the population.
Here is how Health Policy expert Michael Cannon at the CATO Institute puts it:
“The left’s most powerful argument in favor of an Individual Mandate - that the Uninsured sometimes end up in the ER, and unable to pay their bills - isn’t powerful enough. The appropriate response to this problem is not to take away the freedom of the non-free riders. The appropriate response is to leave the non-free riders alone, to place the cost of the “uncompensated” care on the would-be free riders, and to write off any remaining uncompensated care as the price of living in a free and decent society.”
Here is an article that debunks these leftist lies about the Uninsured!
http://townhall.com/columnists/JacobSullum/2009/09/23/does_cost_of_uncompensated_care_justify_forcing_people_to_buy_insurance
Contrary to popular opinion in the media, the Individual Mandate, not the so-called public option is the key to stopping Obamcare in its tracks. Stop the Individual Mandate and the whole bill will unravel for lack of funding and mandatory participation in the scheme!
This is a very dangerous period because Nationalization will still occur even without an overt government run insurance plan like this “public option” provision everyone keeps fixating on - Wyden/Bennett and the Bacus bill are prime examples of this.
Here are the core elements what will be contained in the “health care reform compromise” after the so-called “public option” is in all likelihood dropped:
(a) Federal Regulation aka HEALTH CZAR/DEATH PANELS
(b) Employer/Individual Mandates aka NATIONAL HEALTH INSURANCE
(c) Government Subsidies aka MIDDLE CLASS MEDICAL WELFARE
With the Federal Government setting the rules, forcing everyone to participate, and is paying the bills for most of the middle class through subsidies how is this anything other than Nationalization?
Here is a great link from a CATO study by Michael Cannon about how the takeover will work without a public option or COOP:
http://www.cato.org/people/michael-cannon
Here is a great link to an article by conservative writer Warner Todd Huston on how mandates will destroy our private medical care and Health Insurance just as fast as any public option or COOP:
http://www.publiusforum.com/2009/09/21/what-mandates-do-to-our-insurance/
This is a critical information! Please get the word out! forward to all your friends and email to your Congressional delegations and local/national conservative media!