“It doesn’t take a brain surgeon…….”
Have you ever used this line before? I will usually use this statement when speaking about something that is not as complex as most people think it is. Sometimes when I find myself debating the issues on health care reform with people I’m starting to believe that maybe it is more complex than brain surgery. That is why once again I am going to stick to my guns and continue to address one bite at a time the most pressing healthcare reform issues.
In one of my earlier bites, B.I.T.E. #2, I talked in general terms about The Public Plan run by the government. Over the past couple of days we have now seen two separate bills that have been introduced under the category of health care reform and both of them so far have included “the public plan” run by the government. For the first time we are starting to see some of the details of this public plan and I am encouraging all people to pay attention and take a very close look at what is being proposed. Don’t stop there, once you understand some of the details it is imperative that each one of us contact our representatives in Washington to voice your concerns or approval, but especially your concerns. Remember, whatever is decided on health care reform of this magnitude once it is implemented never in the history of our country has ever been reversed. The consequences will be dealt with by future generations of Americans, our children and our children’s children.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has scored the bill from the House at $1.5 trillion. The CBO’s score for the other bill introduced by the Energy & Commerce, Ways & Means and Education & Labor tri-committee was over $1 trillion. Do any of you remember the example I gave you in B.I.T.E. #4 giving you a frame of reference? Let me refresh your memory on just how big $1 trillion is. If 1 million seconds of time is about 11 1/2 days, 1 billion seconds is 32 years, 1 trillion seconds is 32,000 years!
So far there are three ways that these new bills are going to provide the funding to come up with these incredibly large amounts of money.
1 — Tax the Wealthy. New taxes equaling at least $540 billion over 10 years. (I am including the following link that is an article written describing exactly how this new tax on the wealthy would work.)
2 — Employer Mandate (employers would be mandated to offer health insurance to its employees or face a penalty tax of 8% of their payroll for noncompliance.)
3 — Health Insurance Company Fees (New fees would be levied against all health insurance companies that would equal between $75 billion and $100 billion over 10 years.)
All of the above taxes and industry fees could be even higher should the savings being outlined in the legislation fail to materialize. Just because you currently are not considered wealthy doesn’t mean you will not be taxed in the future to pay for this unsustainable legislation.
One of the scariest and eye-opening comments was made by the CBO director Douglas Elmendorf, “the bills won’t meet the Presidents promise of reducing health care costs over the long term.” This legislation will not only increase the already staggering deficit, but it will also negatively affect our economy due to the employer mandate causing employers to reduce their workforce even further by having to lay off additional employees due to these new increased costs.
If any of these facts are disturbing to you now is the time to make a phone call to your representatives in Washington. If you are not sure who your elected representatives are you can use the links below to find out who they are and how to contact them by phone. Our voices must be heard, we must let them know in Washington that our country and our economy cannot withstand this staggering financial burden.
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/
Matthew Berrafato
Elephant Hunter