Taxes…Taxes….Who gets the taxes?
Congress has been all a twitter (pun intended) about the tax increases proposed by the Obama admin and then the admin shakes its head and promises NO new taxes….the question is….is there tax increases or not?
If it is a government program, whether Dem or Repub, it will contain tax increases…but sometimes they are hidden by flowery language….but a tax increase by any other name is still just that…a TAX INCREASE.
And the Baucus bill that was voted on does just that…though it is not a final draft, it will help word the final bill.
Page 29, sentence one of the bill introduced by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont) says: “The consequence for not maintaining insurance would be an excise tax.”
And the rest of the bill is clear that the Finance Committee does, in fact, consider it a tax: “The excise tax would be assessed through the tax code and applied as an additional amount of Federal tax owed.”
The bill requires every American, with few exceptions, to carry health insurance. To enforce this individual mandate, the Senate Finance Committee created the excise tax as a penalty for people who don’t have insurance – and it can run as much as $3,800 a year per family.
The House bill also refers to the penalties for not carrying insurance as a tax. It calls for a “tax on individuals without acceptable health care coverage” and amends the tax code to implement it.
Well, there ARE alternatives – top of my list is, do away with the government altogether, but I suppose some would see that as extreme and perhaps (at times) a tad inconvenient.
However, a bit more seriously, budget (and therefore tax) neutral is entirely possible – IF you get rid of one or more unnecessary other things to pay for your new project. That, unfortunately, is where the trouble starts because the 250 million or so (I think, isn’t it?) Americans will no doubt each have a pet hate that they’d like to get rid of.
Some of the right might be able to agree that shooting presidents (democratic ones at least) should no longer be a crime and that would save trial costs, but I’m sure others would favour different things.
What do you think? 😈
My thoughts on this are……first, eliminate ALL foreign aid until the country’s needs are met then whatever is left goes to the aid….second, I do not mind taxes it there is a benefit for them….I realize that programs must be funded….but a flat 10% income tax with no deductions…whatever you make 10% goes to the government…..third, if Congress goes to say Afghanistan and if they take the family and make other stops then those stops will be paid for by the person making the trip….get rid of the paid vacations these fools get…..end the free rides……fourth, ALL Congress should use a car pool and a secretary pool and they eat in a Congressional cafeteria….. eliminate the high paid lackeys they have…they would be allowed a chief of staff and two advisers……fifth,eliminate tax breaks that the one for a Hummer, it weighs enough that they can get an agricultural break….this would be a start but not an answer to the whole problem…..