Administration Is Open to Taxing Health Benefits, the New York Times reports on 3/14/2009.
Reference:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/15/us/politics/15health.html?hp
Bad enough that such taxation was a pillar of John McCain's plan, but the real insult is that President Obama is becoming the "it's not my fault" king of excusing all mistakes, past, present and future by blaming the prior eight years. WE KNOW that the prior eight years were bad, that's why you got elected sir. As a matter of fact, it's probably one of the KEY reasons you were elected. But this excuse has been worn out in your first few months of office because you, it appears, are acting as if there's nothing you can do about anything besides throw money out at business, no strings attached and then complain afterward that it's not working out according to plan. We all would have been better off if that money had been thrown out directly to consumers.
Was there a reason that the AIG bailout was done twice, with equally expensively meaningless results BEFORE considering the payment on contracts for bonuses that are being justified by AIG as their means of retaining the "best and brightest ?" Is there any American who could not have bankrupted AIG without the payment of millions in bonuses? While we listen to you whine that it's unethical and that we'll get 'em next time, what kind of a deal is it that pays out the money and then complains that the crooks didn't behave honorably?
It's becoming apparent that President Obama is treating his "first" term as an information term, let me show you how bad it is and we'll get 'em next time. The shift from candidate to President requires more than a change of ties. President Obama's responsibility started with day one and the first 100 days are important for setting the tone of the Presidency because they occur when an executive is at his peak of popularity.
So now regarding taxing employer-sponsored health benefits. Let's say this is what you decide is the only way to get things rolling. While you have almost a pathological inability to look backwards, even when looking backwards is yesterday, looking forward does it make sense to give up any leverage you have in persuading and mandating employers make commitments on behalf of their employees BEFORE taxing individuals for benefits? Further, these federal benefits for governmental civil servants (and of course this applies to other civil servants at state and local levels) should NOT be untouchable while the middle class is forced to support government through additional taxation. These benefits are a handout by the American people to a government that is providing for itself better than its citizens. It is an outrage that Congressmen get the benefit of superior health benefits packages while telling Americans to suck it up.
I wouldn't be surprised if John McCain's name comes up for the HHS Department, things are that screwy.
The campaign is over, you are President. Nobody is interested in listening to you continue to blame the prior Administration for the actions of your administration as if there's nothing else you can do. You didn't have to set the example of hiring tax evaders. You didn't have to "allow" the payout of billions BEFORE having sufficient conditions in place. You didn't have to pass a federal budget that protects civil servants with raises and benefits only to recoup those losses by adopting a let's screw the middle class a bit more approach. These have nothing to do with the prior administration and everything to do with you and it's time to connect the dots between actions and words. Taxing the middle class for benefits without any new responsibilities for employers? Let's do that in the Federal government instead of preserving their benefits and a raise of 3.9% for the year before you push it on citizens.
The tactic being used is apparent with those who are buying in...wait and see. Part of that is WAIT, not throw money out at business and civl service and tell the middle class to wait. Disconnecting yourself from responsibility for anything as if you are caught up in the downhill slide of the snowball that is our economy is not Presidential. Campaigning for the fifth year while making things worse for the middle class I hope will not work.
