Wednesday, January 19, 2011

‘‘Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care Law Act’’

[Link to the pdf of the bill itself:  Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care Law Act]

Gotta love the title of the bill, don't ya?  You know, I'm not a fan of the enacted health care reform law since I believe in true socialized medicine, as in the single-payer universal health care.  That's why it is even more annoying that the Repubs continue to slam "Obamacare" as socialism.  Really?  Socialism?  Pardon the digression, but I still don't get how some of the Mad Hatter Tea Party-ers equate Obama to Hitler.  Is it the Death Panel thing again?

Anyway, back to the point, what is the Republican alternative to repealing health care reform?  Status quo?  They do keep saying, "Let's scrap it and start over."  Start over with what?  What's your proposal or even an idea?  I haven't heard it.  Does it cover more Americans than the current law?  I don't think so.  Repubs would be happy to have people who "choose" not to have any health care coverage.  What is it, then?  Where is it?

House GOP should stop kowtowing to the Mad Hatters and get back to business at hand.  Get people jobs and back to work.  Plenty of new GOP congresspeople got new jobs.  It's time to return the favor to the people who elected them into office.  2012 is not that far away, and the electorate certainly has a very itchy voting finger.

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Trickle-down? Really?

Why do the Repubs still back this "tax cuts for the rich few" notion? It is clearly bad for deficit and does nothing for the economy. Still hanging on to the Trickle-down Economics of the Reagan Years? Come on...

Tax Bill to add $857 Billion to Debt

by CalculatedRisk on 12/09/2010 11:10:00 PM

From Bloomberg: Senate Tax-Cut Extension Plan Would Add $857 Billion to Debt

The congressional Joint Committee on Taxation, which estimates the revenue effects of tax legislation, said the provisions would cost the government $801.3 billion in forgone revenue over 10 years. Extending unemployment benefits for 13 months, another feature of the package, would cost $56 billion, the Obama administration has said.

It is important to remember the Joint Committee on Taxation assumed all the provisions will end as scheduled; the payroll tax cut after one year, and the other tax cuts after two years. That seems very unlikely, so the actual cost will be much much higher. As an example, if the tax cut for high income earners stays in place for the next decade that will add $700 billion alone to the debt!

Also, the vast majority of the impact is from extending the Bush tax cuts.