But getting back to healthcare, I really haven’t been able to pinpoint what he was trying to say except that he wants to shift taxes around and punish American workers who continue to receive health benefits from their employers by labeling the benefit as income and subject to taxes. This new revenue would then be used to offset a proposed tax cut on people who pay their own premiums. Although everybody will receive the tax deduction, declaring the benefit as income is very sneaky and will hurt the middle-class.
USA Today Excerpt:
Health insurance offered through jobs would become taxable income.
This will in effect discourage employer participation and eventually amount to a pay cut for the workers, and it does absolutely nothing to address the high cost of healthcare. After degrading worker compensation and benefits to lows never seen before, Bush and his Republican Party continue to use the tax code as the driving force to privatize healthcare, pensions and Social Security. They don’t seem to understand that the rising burden of “entitlements” is a direct result of less pay-in participation and that their fiscal mismanagement of Federal programs is at the very core of what ails us. He continues to take us in the wrong direction.
18 comments:
That's what I got too from the 5 minutes I could stomach. The problem ladies and gentlemen is not that we have too little health care but too much. There are those (read unions) who have grandiose, luxurious, health care plans while others have nothing.
The unions health care plans are negotiated. Why are you bitching about unions when it's the company that gave them that? The unions have so little power anymore but their still the bad guys. Maybe if the CEO's chopped their annual bonuses and perks they could afford to give more people health care. Greed is the problem, not the people that earn health care.
Isn't that what every employer should strive for? More health benefits equal to if not better than what the unions offer. Why on Earth would a worker refuse good healthcare? because somebody else has none? why do some workers have none? why would anybody want less?? I agree with 3:33PM, greed is the main problem. When CEO's make in one day what their employee makes in a whole year, something is way out of whack.
Why punish success? Isn't that what we all strive for? Let's face it not everyone is equal. We shouldn't just assume we are. If an employer doesn't offer health benifeits then go elsewhere. I hate to be harsh but come on.
Offering no healthcare or pension benefits is the first sign of a failed business. That the CEO of this failed business is earning millions does not mean success - it's greed. We are spiraling down to the levels of third world countries in order to compete with them because of lop-sided agreememts like NAFTA. People need to empower themselves, assemble and boycott if necessary. Shut down those garbage can policies and companies. When one door closes, another one opens.
To 8:20 anonymous,
You're right, but workers live in fear as it is and the only equalizers left have been unions and government regulations to some extent. Contrary to many, affordable healthcare is the toughest domestic issue we face. Corporatists won't fix it, capitalists ignore it, employers want no part of it and investors want bigger dividends. That pretty much puts the healthcare crisis in the hands of the government. In a twist of irony, the very people who complain about socialized medicine are driving everybody else towards it.
To 8:20 most bussinesses that don't offer healthcare aren't the big corporations. They are the mom and pop type companies. Small businesses that just can't afford to provide health insurance for their employees. Most of them do offer some type of insurance but, usually at a cost to the employee. Health insurance costs are huge for an employer. We need to look into the rising costs of healthcare. The system as a whole has been abused. People with really good insurance (the GM & public teacher insurance) where they don't see a bill from a doctor visist. These people go to the doctor for the most minor illnesses. Then some people are sue happy. Costing the doctors to carry very high costing malpractice insurance which is past on to the patient and insurance company. The medical field needs to take every test availble to man kind in hopes to give the patient a diagnosis and in hopes to not get sued down the road.
Isn't it interesting that the lefties are bashing Bushes healthcare plan. But, again they have no plan of their own. This has been the case with the war in Iraq as well. It seems the lefties plan is nothing but piss and moan about the President's plan. When will the lefties grow some balls and actually come up with some plans of their own and present it to the American people? I'm so sick of the lefties complaining they are supposed to be leaders. It's called making tough choices something the lefties are very poor at.
I'd say trying to undo everything your coked out president has done is a plan. Trying to stop him from doing anymore damage is another plan. I can't believe people are still defending this clown. He's already been pegged the worst president ever, from both sides of the isle. You gotta stop the flood before you can start cleaning up. We've already seen what happens when one party rules everything and people voted overwhelmingly that they are sick of it.
I have yrt to hear a "plan" from the demorats. It seems they don't have a plan. To bad the president doesn't have the luxuary to sit and wait and play Monday morning quarterback. He has to make decissions as he seems fit. Time will tell if he's been a good President or not. He has lead us through some very trying times in our history. The people were sick of it but, it seems that the demorats still can't make up their minds abd come together with a plan. It seems the people have made a very bad choice ib vrinnging the demorats into power.
Pretty quick to judge aren't you? They've been there what 2-3 weeks now? If what you've seen in those 2-3 weeks has cleared your mind of the previous 12 years, you are really a sad individual. LOL Pick some new cliche's would you. Alot of people have a plan. Biden, Hilary, Dodd, Edwards, Gravel, Kerry, Kucinich, Obama, Vilsack, they all have a plan. Because nobody had agreed on a unified plan shouldn't shock you. It's politics. It's when they all agree on something that worries me. The day they all agree, democracy dies.
To the previous post. I think the war has been going on since 2002. You may think that it's only been 2-3 weeks but, it actually has been much longer. The democrats have been against this war since day one. But, yet they haven't been able to come up with a better plan. So we all sit and wait. Enough of the lame ass excuses from the lefties. Play to win r don't play at all.
You might want to read 5:08 post before getting all riled up and defending him. He said "It seems the people have made a very bad choice ib vrinnging the demorats into power". Thats the 2-3 weeks I was referring to. It's funny, I don't remember anybody being against the war in Afghanistan Repub or Dem. Remember that place, Afghanistan? We still have a war gong on there thats not finished either. The reason people are against the war in Iraq is because over 3000 of our soldiers have been killed and for what reason? All the reasons given to date have been lies. And it's not just lefties that are against it, there are, dare I say it, Republicans against it too. Come back when you can read and have something constructive to say other than 'lefties are bad, mmmmmmmmmk?
Sooo what does that have to do with coming up with a plan? 2-3 weeks in power doesn't mean they only had that much time to come up with a plan is it? The diffrence is republicans want to win the war and democrats don't they want to run. Republicans are sick of the war we all are. I'm sick of the terrorists blowing themselves up and killing our soldiers and innocent children. That's not the arguement. The arguement is how do we win this war? Why don't we leave afganistan? Bin Laden is no longer there.
The war in Afganistan would be just as "bad" as the war in Iraq if the media wanted to portray that to us.
Repugs are sick of the war because it made them and their plans look retarded. Nobody wants to lose the war, that statement is just so stupid. If it was up to the pugs we'd still be "staying the course", and thats worked soooo well.
Pulling out our troops is surrender. Surrender means loosing.
I thought we went into Iraq to get rid of WMD's, no wait, he was involved in 9/11, no wait again, regime change.... yeah thats the ticket. Well I'd say we have done that. Saddam is dead and now Iraq has a new group in. Our job is DONE. Why is controlling sectarian violence our problem? I read on here all the time people bitching about "Dems don't have a plan". So explain to me exactly what victory in Iraq will be? We haven't heard that from a single pug. If you are dumb enough to write when the violence and terrorism stops you are alot dumber than I give you credit for. All it takes is one person to be a terrorist. Terrorism will never end. There will always be somebody or some group not happy about something. What is really left in Iraq for us to do? The only thing I can see left is for us to leave. You may say we have to train their people. Well today I read an article that we aren't even doing that right. We keep giving them money, which is mysteriously disappearing, weapons, also disappearing, probably to arm the same people killing our troops. What do we really owe Iraq? A chance? Thats their job not ours. I seem to recall a country called America that after we kicked the crowns ass out did pretty well for itself, by itself. Time to start fixing problems at home and taking care of our own. The rest of the world sure as hell ain't gonna do it for us, especially after GWB has made us the target of hatred, scorn and distrust throughout it.
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