If you are like me, then you believe that a properly regulated market can and will provide the best solutions to the problems facing our nation. That is the nature of the capitalism, if there is a demand the market will find a way to capitalize on that need. Some company, large or small, will develop a product to fulfill that need. That is until regulations or other some such nonsense originating within the political halls of power gets in the way of the innovation process. The members of our opposition on the other hand hold the belief that the only true method to solve problems is through a larger and more involved government, be it federal or state.
So it should come as no surprise to anyone which side of the healthcare issue that that Iowa’s Democratic US Senator Tom Harkin falls on. Naturally he falls in lockstep with his party in their quest to initiate a universal healthcare program. The only real debate on this issue within the Democratic Party is as to how to pay for the program. According to an article in the Des Moines Register Senator Harkin has stated that he would not be opposed to taxing employer provided health insurance. Now I will admit that he doesn’t want to tax all health insurance benefits, just the ones that he calls “Cadillac plans.” The only clarification that he makes on this issue is that they are plans that provide more than minimum coverage. The problem is that Harkin doesn’t indicate what he considers minimum coverage.
Senator Harkin has time and time again opened his mouth only to spout some absurd comment. His remarks demonstrate a distressing lack of knowledge as to how the insurance industry works. The fact that he doesn’t indicate what he thinks are excessively large insurance policies should cause Americans across the nation some alarm. If this idea causes you some a great deal of concern contact Senator Harkin to express your opposition to this ridiculous idea.
Filed under: Abregar, Politics | Tagged: Healthcare, Healthcare industry, Tom Harkin, Universal Healthcare
In the beginning health insurance was offered to employees as a way to boost their “pay” without boosting their taxable income. I think wage and price controls were in effect at the time (WWII). So Harkin is cutting thru that tax dodge.
Think of it this way. If a minimum wage laborer gets a pay hike, he gets to pay more taxes, too. If a union negotiates better health insurance instead of higher pay, it is tax-free. So the poor worker subsidizes the unionized worker. Surely you are against that.
Jerry Please explain you definition of a poor worker. Each person has a different view of what constitutes poor. If I know yours then maybe we can have a discussion of this issue.
Jerry you sure have a talent for trivializing the momentous and complicating the obvious.
Great point, Woodrow.
By the way, McCain proposed the same thing in the campaign last summer.
By the way, McCain is not a conservative and that is why he lost.