"I'm four years old, already in debt to the tune of $38,000.00 thanks to Pelosi & Crew and all I own is this lousy doll house!
Posted on 11/11/2009 6:36:36 AM PST by Kaslin
Rep. Joe Barton of Texas, ranking Republican on the Energy and Commerce Committee, set out a startling scenario in floor debate Saturday before the House approved the health care bill pushed by Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
The bill would slap an 8 percent tax on the payrolls of employers who do not provide health insurance to their workers and pay at least 65 percent of the premiums for an employee who has a family insurance plan and 72.5 percent of the premiums for an employee who has an individual insurance plan. Barton spelled out what he believes will happen if this provision becomes law.
Many Americans might be tempted to casually conclude that the purpose of Pelosi's new payroll tax is to force employers to buy health insurance for their workers and that the parties hurt most by the tax would be the employers who pay it.
This is wrong on both counts. The Pelosi tax will not force employers to buy insurance for their workers, it will give them an incentive not buy insurance. The parties most hurt by the Pelosi tax will not be the employers who pay it but the workers dumped into the government-run health care system Pelosi's plan creates.
This will happen when employers discover that paying Pelosi's tax is cheaper than buying health insurance. The Pelosi payroll tax will be a whip wielded by the state to drive Americans into a socialized health care system from which there will be no escape.
In 2016, when the Pelosi plan would be in full force, the average employer-provided health insurance plan will cost $11,000 for a family and $6,000 for an individual, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Barton based his analysis on a family plan that cost only $10,000.
"The employee pays $3,500 and the employer pays $6,500," said Barton. "Since there's an 8 percent payroll tax on the (employer's) average (wage) of $40,000, that would be about $3,200. Most employers, when this plan is implemented, can pay the 8 percent tax, which is $3,200, or the $6,500 premium that they pay for their employees.
"They're going to stop providing health care ... and they're just going to put them in the public option," said Barton. "The employee is going to take that $3,500 that he or she was paying for their premium for a $10,000 plan and they're going to find out that when they go into the health care exchange, their $3,500 doesn't buy a $10,000 policy. It buys a $3,500 policy. It's a bad deal."
The deal looks even worse when you consider some of its technicalities -- which are also designed to drive Americans into government-run health care.
The bill that passed the House sets up a national "health insurance exchange" run by the government. Families earning up to 400 percent of the poverty level ($88,200 for a family of four) will qualify for a federal insurance subsidy that attenuates as family income rises. But families will not get this subsidy if their employer provides them with insurance, or if they buy their insurance anywhere but in the government exchange. One of the plans in the exchange will be the "public option" run by the government itself.
The Pelosi payroll tax will be phased in for companies with annual payrolls between $500,000 and $750,000. Employers with payrolls less than $500,000 will not pay it at all. Employers with payrolls between $500,000 and $585,000 will pay 2 percent of payroll if they don't provide health insurance. Employers with payrolls between $585,000 and $670,000 will pay 4 percent. Employers with payrolls between $670,000 and $750,000 will pay 6 percent. And employers with payrolls over $750,000 will pay the full 8 percent.
An employer who has 10 employees and an annual payroll of $499,000 (or an average of $49,900 per worker) will not pay a penny of Pelosi tax if he cancels his private health insurance program and dumps his workers into the government health care system. He will also have an incentive not to give his workers a raise or to risk his own money trying to grow his business.
But assume he does give each worker a $1,000 raise at the end of the year, bringing his payroll to $509,000. In that case, he faces a choice: Either pay 65 percent of the $11,000 annual insurance premium for every one of his workers who has a family and 72.5 percent of the $6,000 premium for every worker who does not have a family -- or pay the 2 percent Pelosi tax.
The Pelosi tax would only charge him a flat fee of $10,180 (2 percent of his $509,000 payroll) to offload all his workers into the government system.
Because the government-run public option would be able to undersell the government-approved private plans in the government-run insurance exchange, the government-run option would soon be the only option.
Government would control our health care from womb to tomb, a time span likely to be shortened by government care.
"I'm four years old, already in debt to the tune of $38,000.00 thanks to Pelosi & Crew and all I own is this lousy doll house!
Pelosi hates America and Americans.
If anything like the house bill gets through, this will create enormous stress on small business. Small businesses have already cut staffs to the bone and workers are working at full capacity. People have less money and demand is very weak, so small businesses have very little pricing power. Although a little savings might be wrung out of vendors, it’s not much. With health care taxes looming and energy taxes still a possibility through executive order, there isn’t any wiggle room.
It seems logical that in order to survive, small businesses will have no choice by to cut employee salaries in order to pay for the taxes and regulations. We have not really seen this happen on a widespread basis since the great depression.
Trickle down economics at work in reverse. It’s trickle down poverty.
I am an employer of 40 people and would have to decrease wages by roughly the amount of any increase in cost in order to pay for this. Not sure where any gain is here for the average person. There isn’t the extra money sitting around to just absorb the cost. The net affect is the person is paying for health care. Not many companies have the “extra” profit to do this any other way and stay in business.
Just where does Nancy Pelosi think a family of 4 with an income of 90K is going to come up with the 10-20 thousand dollars to buy into the public option once their employer drops their coverage?
Hey, health care is “free” in the camps for those who do not submit.
Yep. I work for a small, family owned company, too. My boss is VERY Conservative (God Bless Him!) and he’ll most likely do the same if this if forced upon us.
And I wouldn’t blame him one bit. Screw ‘em!
Both Husband and I own small home-based businesses, too. We’ll NEVER hire anyone else other than our son to help us out when needed. We’ll work 24/7 to bring in a project on time and on budget if that’s what it takes. Government steals enough from us as it is! :)
[An employer who has 10 employees and an annual payroll of $499,000 (or an average of $49,900 per worker) will not pay a penny of Pelosi tax if he cancels his private health insurance program and dumps his workers into the government health care system. He will also have an incentive not to give his workers a raise or to risk his own money trying to grow his business. ]
As someone who is active in starting small businesses, I can tell you that all of a sudden I would split any existing business into LLCs with under $500,000 in payroll.
The trouble is that the taxes in Pelosicare kick in immediately, but it will be three years before the public option is available. Small businesses will get clobbered and layoff workers.
Just finished lunch with a former employer.
His plan,should this healthcare fiasco pass,
is to convert “employees” into “contractors”
and let them fend for themselves.
Is this our future?
If this bill is signed into law America, get ready for the beginning of a non ending nightmare for every American.
Your country and freedom will disappear right before your eyes. They will use this to ration and dictate every facet of your life. Your punishment for non compliance will be denial of any care.
They will dump the money they steal from your bank account or employee check into the general fund and spend it just like they have social security.
Extreme rationing will be the only way it will work. The more people they can drive to death, the more they can spend and control.
Never trust them. They are just evil.
...”As someone who is active in starting small businesses, I can tell you that all of a sudden I would split any existing business into LLCs with under $500,000 in payroll.”...
That’s a good point, but I would be surprised if the criminals in congress have not already covered that somehow.
This “reform” legislation is designed with a single purpose: to eliminate the private health insurance sector thereby to control Americans and buy votes for the criminal democrat party.
I say, it won’t work. The productive segment of America will not stand by and support this. We will go ballistic -maybe kinetic...
“Just finished lunch with a former employer.
His plan,should this healthcare fiasco pass,
is to convert “employees” into “contractors”
and let them fend for themselves.
Is this our future?”
- No worries there friend. Obama will then just take over those companies the way he is taking over the Auto industry, Banks, Health, etc.
Some very interesting comments here (drudge linked to this yesterday..and abcnews of all places):
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/11/interview-with-the-president-jail-time-for-those-without-health-care-insurance/comments/page/4/#comments
[His plan,should this healthcare fiasco pass,
is to convert “employees” into “contractors”]
Yup, everyone 1099’d and/or split off into small LLCd subunits. Lots outsourced to India too.
All to make us more healthy.
I know SBiz Employers already using the contract avenue.
Puts the burden on the employee for taxes and health benefits.
As a Small Business Owner myself (1 employee, me) , I can understand why he’s would have to take that route.
I’m not taking their plan, I’m not paying any taxes on it, not paying any penalties. I will lay off and dump them all. Hell, I might just close the business or sell it and take off for a tropical paradise.
Right On. I’ve been saying for years that you can’t have a GLOBAL economy until you wipe out the American middle class. It seems that we’re well on our way.
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