Dem Senator Warns of 'Big, Big Tax' on Middle Class in Baucus Bill

[Tea For One]

Dem Senator Warns of 'Big, Big Tax' on Middle Class in Baucus Bill
September 16, 2009 7:45 AM

PrintRSSE-mailShare this blog entry with friendsFacebookTwitterRedditStumbleUponMoreABC News' Teddy Davis reports:


It's not every day that you hear a Democratic senator charge that a fellow Democrat is proposing to raise taxes on the middle class, but that is what happened on Tuesday when Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., ripped into the health-care bill developed by Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mt., the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee.

The Baucus proposal would impose, starting in 2013, a 35 percent excise tax on insurance companies for "high-cost plans" -- defined as those above $8,000 for individuals and $21,000 for family plans.

Health economists believe a tax on high-priced benefits could help slow the growth of health costs by making consumers more sensitive to prices.

The tax contemplated by Baucus is also a big revenue raiser. It is expected to raise $200 billion, money that Baucus is hoping to use to pay for subsidies for the uninsured.

Given how much money this kind of tax can raise, Rockefeller says he understands why it is "tempting."

The West Virginia Democrat worries, however, that a lot of middle class workers, like the coal miners in his state, will end up facing "a big, big tax" under the Baucus bill because they currently enjoy generous employer-provided health care benefits which they receive tax free.

Referring to Baucus, Rockefeller said, "He should understand that (his proposal) means that virtually every single coal miner is going to have a big, big tax put on them because the tax will be put on the company and the company will immediately pass it down and lower benefits because they are self insured, most of them, because they are larger. They will pass it down, lower benefits, and probably this will mean higher premiums for coal miners who are getting very good health care benefits for a very good reason. That is, like steelworkers and others, they are doing about the most dangerous job that can be done in America."

"So that’s not really a smart idea," Rockefeller continued. "In fact, it’s a very dangerous idea, and I’m not even sure the coal miners in West Virginia are aware that this is what is waiting if this bill passes."

Rockefeller made his comments on a conference call with reporters which was sponsored by the liberal Campaign for America's Future.

Rockefeller, who sits on the Finance Committee, said that he cannot support the Baucus bill unless it receives major improvements during the amendment process.

Baucus, the Finance chair, is scheduled to discuss his "chairman's mark" with reporters on Capitol Hill at 12 noon on Wednesday.

ABC News' Brittany Crockett contributed to this report. September 16, 2009 | Permalink | Share | User Comments (556)

[Bohemian]

In the health care debate (ObamaCare), there are efforts to create a computerized national healthcare database...

The Ted Kennedy (The Most Anti-Second Amendment Congressman in U.S. History) Bill (ObamaCare) Could Send Your Gun Info Into A Massive Federal Database...

Baucus Health Care Draft to Fine Reluctant Gun Owners up to $3,800...

ObamaCare's latest amendments by Legendary Gun Banner Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) contain provisions that will
cost most households 13% of their gross household income annually to pay for ObamaCare...
Another number to watch: 13 percent. That’s the share of family income that the Baucus plan envisions middle-class American families having to pay in health insurance premiums before co-payments, deductibles and other cost-sharing...

That is more then most health insurance plans cost if you bought one out of the phone book; Blue Cross & Blue Shield for example...
Imagine your household makes $100,000 dollars a year, that means Gun Ban Max Baucus thinks you should be paying $13,000 per year for health insurance that the government provides before co-pays and the 80-20 or 70-30 split...
Get a quote from Blue Cross & Blue Shield, a better plan then the Socialist Government ObamaCare Option and about 1/2 the price...
1/4 the price if you get it through your employer group plan...

Senate Leadership Pushes for Sleazy Maneuver to Pass Anti-Gun ObamaCare Database...

S. 632 (Baucus et al.): This bill would provide that the manufacturer’s excise tax on recreational equipment be paid quarterly...

Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) IF we do not get 60 votes we will use the Reconciliation option (AKA: Nuclear Option); in other words because so no many Democrats are running away from ObamaCare and Socialized Medicine, we will force it down America's throat...

The Nuclear Option is Forcing Government-Run Insurance through the Senate with just 51 votes...

ObamaCare victimizes America's gun owners...

Chuck Norris - ObamaCare's Dirty Secrets...

Ted Kennedy Bill Could Send Your Gun Info Into A Massive Federal Database
Baucus Health Care Draft to Fine Reluctant Gun Owners up to ,800
Senate Leadership Pushes for Sleazy Maneuver to Pass Anti-Gun ObamaCare Database
Gun rights, control groups find fight in health debate
Anti-gun Companies, Organizations, Media And Celebrities
Coburn honored for gun rights bill
http://gunowners.org/fs0703.pdf
ObamaCare victimizes America's gun owners (OneNewsNow.com)
Dirty secret No. 1 in Obamacare
Dirty secret No. 2 in Obamacare
Dirty secret No. 3 in Obamacare
Dirty secret No. 4 in Obamacare

How the Brady Bill Passed (Thank Senator Max Baucus (D-MT & The NRA):
2/94 How the Brady Bill Passed

WTFU Sheeple...
NoBamaCare

Socialism - Sounds Like A Good Idea Till You Run Out Of Other Peoples Money!

[HK4U]

You think more taxes is part of the plan all along?

"The people will be crushed under the burden of taxes, loan after loan will be floated; after having drained the present, the State will devour the future."
Fredric Bastiat