Posted
1/21/2007 05:47:00 PM
by Douglas
George Bush is a genius. Only a genius could find a single aspect of American life that's untaxed and propose a
tax for it."Today, the tax code unfairly penalizes people who do not get health insurance through their job," Bush said. "It unwisely encourages workers to choose overly expensive, gold-plated plans. The result is that insurance premiums rise and many Americans cannot afford the coverage they need."
The basic concept of the plan is that employer-provided health insurance, now treated as a fringe benefit exempt from taxation, would no longer be entirely tax-free. Workers could be taxed if their coverage exceeded limits set by the government. But the government would also offer a new tax deduction for people buying health insurance on their own.
What a rail road screw job from someone who used to
claim to be a conservative. This example of "robbing Peter to pay Paul" is going to benefit one group: Insurance Companies. Instead of taking steps to reform how the system is administered, this is only going to change where the money is coming from. Yeah, I know that more than $15,000 a year may be a bit pricey, but what the hell does "gold plated" mean? Does Bush know how much
crappy insurance costs? I've got the cheapest HMO my employer offers, and it's not much less than this "gold plated" cap.