Mr. Hodes Spins A Fairy Tale

Mr. Paul Hodes offered up his wisdom (and cover) on his vote in favor of the democrat health care plan(s) in the Sunday Union Leader.   It contained all the usual lies.  A list of greater goods all at no additional cost.  No fiscal cost.  No cost to access.  No cost to service.  And may the glory of the republic shine upon thee.

That's right.  Mr. Hodes would like us to believe that government can lard up the bureaucracy, take over management, and provide better-cheaper-faster service without adding one dime to the deficit.  He was not trying to be funny.  He actually believe this is possible.

While this kind of thinking usually excludes a six year old from the privilege of having an allowance, Rep hodes considers it resume material for a Senate run.  Looking at the senate I can see why he's arrived at that conclusion.  But that's no excuse to add another barbarian to the horde.   

The overreaching problem is that there are hard and fast rules for supply and demand, cost, quality, and availability, that apply to capitalists and socialists alike.  So nothing in either bill (House and Senate) can produce anything near what Mr. Hodes promises in his editorial. 

But the biggest nose-growing fabrication continues to be related to cost.  And to suggest, as Mr. Hodes does, that this will not impact the middle class, is absurd or so naive as to be criminal--where ignorance of the laws of economics are no excuse. 

What follows is a list of taxes--floated or included--that will be required to produce the desired goal Mr. Hodes describes as not adding "one dime" to the deficit.

•    An income surtax on taxpayers earning more than $500,000 a year,

•    An excise tax on high-cost "Cadillac" health insurance plans that cost more than $8,500 a year for individuals or $21,000 for families,

•    An excise tax on medical devices such as wheelchairs, breast pumps, and syringes used by diabetics for insulin injections,

•    A cap on the exclusion of employer-provided health insurance without offsetting tax cuts,

•    A limit on itemized deductions for taxpayers with a top income tax rate greater than 28 percent,

•    A windfall profits tax on health insurance companies,

•    A value-added tax, which would tax the value added to a product at each stage of production,

•    An increase in the Medicare portion of the payroll tax to 3.4 percent for incomes great than $200,000 a year ($250,000 for married filers),

•    An excise tax on sugar-sweetened beverages including non-diet soda and sports drinks,

•    Higher taxes on alcoholic beverages including beer, wine, and spirits,

•    A tax on individuals without acceptable health care coverage of up to 2.5 percent of their adjusted gross income,

•    A limit on contributions to health savings accounts,

•    An 8 percent tax on all wages paid by employers that do not provide their employees health insurance that satisfies the requirements defined by the Secretary of Health and Human Services,

•    A limit on contributions to flexible spending arrangements,

•    Elimination of the deduction for expenses associated with Medicare Part D subsidies,

•    An increase in taxes on international businesses,

•    Elimination of the tax credits paper companies take for biofuels they create in their production process--the so-called "Black Liquor credit,"

•    Fees on insured and self-insured health plans,

•    A limit or repeal of the itemized deduction for medical expenses,

•    A limit on the Qualified Medical Expense definition,

•    An increase in the payroll taxes on students,

•    An extension of the Medicare payroll tax to all state and local government employees,

•    An increase in taxes on hospitals,

•    An increase in the estate tax,

•    Increased efforts to close the mythical "tax gap,"

•    A 5 percent tax on cosmetic surgery and similar procedures such as Botox treatments, tummy tucks, and face lifts,

•    A tax on drug companies,

•    An increase in the corporate tax on providers of health insurance, and

•    A $500,000 deduction limitation for the compensation paid by health insurance companies to their officers, employees, and directors.

Write or call Mr. Hodes and ask him to explain the economics to you.  Ask him how taxes on any part of the industry cannot possibly affect the costs you will pay for this or other things, or affect service or access as he suggests.  It's simply not possible to achieve what he suggests given what we know about the bill(s) and the rules of supply and demand.  To suggest otherwise is either a drug induced delusion or an outright lie.

Tax list courtesy of Human Events

Comments

[GreyGhost]

Steve, I got the same BS when I wrote to Ho-Hode and told him that I expected him to vote against ObamaPelosiReidCare.