Thought Health Care Reform was to pay for itself?

[Political Junky]

Haven't we been told all along by those on the left that the Public Option was going to pay for itself by the insured? I'm pretty sure Care4all has taken this stand time and time again, but, I have never been able to figure out how that was possible. It is impossible. We cannot provide health insurance to the poor free of charge and not have someone else pay for it.

AP Sources: Reid Eyes Payroll Tax Hike On Wealthy - cbs4denver.com

WASHINGTON (AP) ― Majority Leader Harry Reid is considering a plan for higher payroll taxes on the upper-income earners to help finance health care legislation he intends to introduce in the Senate in the next several days, numerous Democratic officials said Wednesday.

These officials said one of the options Reid has had under review would raise the payroll tax that goes to Medicare, but only on income above $250,000 a year. Current law sets the tax at 1.45 percent of income, an amount matched by employers.

It was not known how large an increase Reid, D-Nev., was considering, or whether it would also apply to a company's portion of the tax. President Barack Obama has said he will not raise taxes on wage earners making less than $250,000.

Now granted no one who thought about this actually believed health reform would pay for itself, but here we have it straight from the horse's as, er I mean, mouth! Senator Reid now says that it is not possible for health care reform to pay for itself so he's going to tax the rich (bet it wont only be the rich when this is said and done) to pay for it.

Would someone from the left please explain how the public option is supposed to be self sufficient AND still provide insurance to the poor without taxing others?

Immie

Obama has said all along that he would raise taxes on high earners. He already gave a tax cut to those making less money. Do try to keep up.

 

[Meister]

Haven't we been told all along by those on the left that the Public Option was going to pay for itself by the insured? I'm pretty sure Care4all has taken this stand time and time again, but, I have never been able to figure out how that was possible. It is impossible. We cannot provide health insurance to the poor free of charge and not have someone else pay for it.

AP Sources: Reid Eyes Payroll Tax Hike On Wealthy - cbs4denver.com

WASHINGTON (AP) ― Majority Leader Harry Reid is considering a plan for higher payroll taxes on the upper-income earners to help finance health care legislation he intends to introduce in the Senate in the next several days, numerous Democratic officials said Wednesday.

These officials said one of the options Reid has had under review would raise the payroll tax that goes to Medicare, but only on income above $250,000 a year. Current law sets the tax at 1.45 percent of income, an amount matched by employers.

It was not known how large an increase Reid, D-Nev., was considering, or whether it would also apply to a company's portion of the tax. President Barack Obama has said he will not raise taxes on wage earners making less than $250,000.

Now granted no one who thought about this actually believed health reform would pay for itself, but here we have it straight from the horse's as, er I mean, mouth! Senator Reid now says that it is not possible for health care reform to pay for itself so he's going to tax the rich (bet it wont only be the rich when this is said and done) to pay for it.

Would someone from the left please explain how the public option is supposed to be self sufficient AND still provide insurance to the poor without taxing others?

Immie

Obama has said all along that he would raise taxes on high earners. He already gave a tax cut to those making less money. Do try to keep up.

Really? Can you give a link to that...because I haven't been able to find where he has lowered taxes for low wage earners.

 

[mudwhistle]

Anyone who's stupid enough to believe a single thing these Democrats say needs to get a real serious hosing to teach them a lesson.

I get tired of talking till I'm blue in the face about these lying assholes in Washington and it's just now sinking in.

 

[Political Junky]

Haven't we been told all along by those on the left that the Public Option was going to pay for itself by the insured? I'm pretty sure Care4all has taken this stand time and time again, but, I have never been able to figure out how that was possible. It is impossible. We cannot provide health insurance to the poor free of charge and not have someone else pay for it.

AP Sources: Reid Eyes Payroll Tax Hike On Wealthy - cbs4denver.com



Now granted no one who thought about this actually believed health reform would pay for itself, but here we have it straight from the horse's as, er I mean, mouth! Senator Reid now says that it is not possible for health care reform to pay for itself so he's going to tax the rich (bet it wont only be the rich when this is said and done) to pay for it.

Would someone from the left please explain how the public option is supposed to be self sufficient AND still provide insurance to the poor without taxing others?

Immie

Obama has said all along that he would raise taxes on high earners. He already gave a tax cut to those making less money. Do try to keep up.

Really? Can you give a link to that...because I haven't been able to find where he has lowered taxes for low wage earners.

Obama Says Families to Get Tax Relief Starting April (Update1) - Bloomberg.com

This was one month into President Obama's administration.

 

[Immanuel]

Obama has said all along that he would raise taxes on high earners. He already gave a tax cut to those making less money. Do try to keep up.

Really? Can you give a link to that...because I haven't been able to find where he has lowered taxes for low wage earners.

Obama Says Families to Get Tax Relief Starting April (Update1) - Bloomberg.com

This was one month into President Obama's administration.

Feb. 21 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama said the Treasury Department will begin ordering employers today to cut taxes taken from workers’ paychecks as part of his effort to boost a worsening U.S. economy.

Obama, speaking in his weekly address, said a “typical” family will start getting at least an extra $65 a month by April 1 as a result of the $787 billion stimulus package he signed into law earlier this week. He said the measure is only a “first step.”

Oh goody, so now rather than breaking even on my 1040 this year, I owe the government $585 when I file my my return.

Did the tax brackets change? Did the tax rates change? Or did he simply say "pay less now so you can pay more later"?

Income tax in the United States - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Doesn't apprear to me that the tax rates changed all that much.

I just calculated the tax on married filing jointly with taxable income of $50,000.

2008 tax = 6697.50
2009 tax = 6665.00

A savings of $32.50 which means if this taxpayer has $65 less withheld from his paycheck every month for 9 months at the end of the year he will owe an extra $552.50 when he files his tax return or receive $552.50 less of a refund.

Immie

 

[jreeves]

Obama has said all along that he would raise taxes on high earners. He already gave a tax cut to those making less money. Do try to keep up.

Really? Can you give a link to that...because I haven't been able to find where he has lowered taxes for low wage earners.

Obama Says Families to Get Tax Relief Starting April (Update1) - Bloomberg.com

This was one month into President Obama's administration.

Now where is your link for Obama and Congress raising consumption taxes?

So let me get this right, he gives you 20 dollars with his left hand and takes 40 with his right hand....some tax break.

 

[Annie]

And don't forget the $500 billion they are going to save on hunting down waste, fraud and inefficiency in Medicare. Weird . . . they needed a bill for that?

I guess. Seems the problem is still here today:

Govt: Medicare paid $47 billion in suspect claims - Yahoo! News

Govt: Medicare paid $47 billion in suspect claims

By HOPE YEN, Associated Press Writer
1 hr 23 mins ago

WASHINGTON – The government paid more than $47 billion in questionable Medicare claims including medical treatment showing little relation to a patient's condition, wasting taxpayer dollars at a rate nearly three times the previous year.

Excerpts of a new federal report, obtained by The Associated Press, show a dramatic increase in improper payments in the $440 billion Medicare program that has been cited by government auditors as a high risk for fraud and waste for 20 years.

It's not clear whether Medicare fraud is actually worsening. Much of the increase in the last year is attributed to a change in the Health and Human Services Department's methodology that imposes stricter documentation requirements and includes more improper payments — part of a data-collection effort being ordered government-wide by President Barack Obama next week to promote "honest budgeting" and accurate statistics.
Still, the fiscal 2009 financial report — covering the first few months of the Obama administration — highlights the challenges ahead for a government that is seeking in part to pay for its proposed health care overhaul by cracking down on Medicare fraud. While noting that several new anti-fraud efforts were beginning, the government report makes clear that "aggressive actions" to date aimed at reducing improper payments had yielded little improvement...