Obama is making a mistake in considering taxing benefits
By Joel McDonald • Jun 4th, 2009 • Category: Blog, Related NewsWe all know that health-care reform is a significant issue, one that is squarely in the cross-hairs of the Obama administration. It’s also a mammoth of a situation as any major change to health-care requires massive amounts of cash to undertake. The Wall Street Journal reports that Obama is considering taxing employer provided health benefits in order to fund the health-care reforms that his administration would like to pass.
I’m not sure of all the specifics, but whether the taxes are to the employer or to the employee, this is a bad idea. This might be a transitional problem for Americans until they can buy into the affordable policy touted by Obama during the campaign, but people like me would likely go without health coverage to avoid the taxes. For me, and many others, it would be the same as being taxed on income earned where there was no income, which could be a major tax hike.
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Joel McDonald has been following Virginia politics since February 2008, starting with the Democratic Presidential Primary. Since then, he has been the primary new media contact for progressive district and statewide campaigns.
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He said this during the campaign. This is not a change in opinion for him.
He may have. I don’t remember this as well as I remember the him speaking against McCain’s proposed policy of taxing benefits. Whatever the case, I still think it’s a mistake that will likely leave many without insurance in the short term, as they won’t be able to afford taxes on benefits provided by their employer. If the national system is in place prior to the taxation of benefits, then we might be alright. It’s still going to be an issue for many, especially conservatives who will claim that Obama is driving insurance companies out of business in favor of the national system.