Posted on 03/14/2009 6:09:51 PM PDT by reaganaut1
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is signaling to Congress that the president could support taxing some employee health benefits, as several influential lawmakers and economists favor, to help pay for an overhaul of the health care system.
The proposal is politically problematic for President Obama, however, since it is similar to one he denounced in the presidential campaign as “the largest middle-class tax increase in history.” Most Americans with insurance get it from their employers, and taxing workers for the benefit is opposed by union leaders and some businesses.
In television advertisements last fall, Mr. Obama criticized his Republican rival for the presidency, Senator John McCain of Arizona, for proposing to tax all employer-provided health benefits. The benefits have long been tax-free, regardless of how generous they are or how much an employee earns. The advertisements did not point out that Mr. McCain, in exchange, wanted to give all families a tax credit to subsidize the purchase of coverage.
At the time, even some Obama supporters said privately that he might come to regret his position if he won the election; in effect, they said, he was potentially giving up an important option to help finance his ambitious health care agenda to reduce medical costs and to expand coverage to the 46 million uninsured Americans. Now that Mr. Obama has begun the health debate, several advisers say that while he will not propose changing the tax-free status of employee health benefits, neither will he oppose it if Congress does so.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Coward.
The administration is open to TAXING and SPENDING on everything and everyone under the sun.
Single payer system doesn’t necessarily mean government provided health insurance.
I understand the idea of taxing health benefits. they are trying to make it fair. A person that buys their own health insurance and pays for their own health care is taxed on the income they spend on those things. But the solution is not to tax benefits, in my opinion, but to give a tax credit to those that buy their own.
Am I wrong?
THAT’S really going to thrillth heck out of the HOPE and CHANGE crowd!
How about making it deductible instead of taxing others?
This is a back door way for O to finally get his way. Everything he is doing is a
backdoor way to socialism/communism and the congress gives him a pass. Stupid idiots they all are!
Isn’t that what I posted?
Exactly!
I think that Congress is going to look a bit different, come 2011!
Yes, and which economists favor this? The Soviet ones?
This idiot is digging his own political grave. Tax health benefits? That’ll go over well. Thanks Borat Obama!
You are exactly right!
How about taxing the “benefits” he consumes and drinks at the White House soirees?...just taxing benefits of the work place...
Two things we know to be true beyond doubt:
Obama lies nearly constantly.
Obama will tax anything and everything.
And if you are a registered Republican or, God Forbid, a CONSERVATIVE...Denied! It is your DUTY to Die, Racist scum!
He just better make darn sure that Congress critters pay the same tax on their health care benefits that we have to pay.
That is EXACTLY what needs to be done to eliminate the discrimination that exists between Company Covered and Self Employed Covered.
No, he has a sneaky way to get the money.
He intends to rape our military of their hard earned medical benefits. Right now if you spend 20 years in the military and retire you get TRICARE benefits for yourself and family for a fraction of the cost of other health care. The family members are covered until they are 21 and the spouse and retiree are covered for life as they forego their medicare benefits to continue on TRICARE.
Obama will either severly raise the costs of these services or diminish them thats the plan.
Doesn't it? Would the USPS of health care not still be a government backed monopoly?
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