President Obama came to Cleveland yesterday to sell his health care reform plan. As usual, he was deeply eloquent in describing the problems facing the American health care system and the need for reform. But the actual reform proposal that he is pushing is a deeply flawed product that even the best salesman can't disguise.
If one totals up all the new taxes in the House Democratic health reform bill–the income tax surtax, the penalties on businesses that fail to provide and individuals who fail to buy the governments prescribed health care plan, as well as other frees and taxes–the cost to American taxpayers will top $800 billion. On top of that, studies suggest that the plan could increase insurance premiums by 75-95 percent.
Combined with President Obama's plan to allow President Bush's tax cuts to expire and state taxes, Ohio residents would face a top marginal tax rate of 51.2 percent. That's a big price tag for a health care plan that will likely lead to Americans receiving less and lower quality health care.
Let's look at what Ohioans would be buying.
First, the president supports an individual mandate — a requirement that every American buy health insurance. And not just any insurance but insurance that includes all the benefits government thinks you should have. That insurance could be more expensive or include benefits that people don't want or are morally opposed to, such as abortion services.
And that doesn't just affect those without insurance today. The bills now before Congress say that while you won't be immediately forced to switch from your current insurance to a government-specified plan, you'll have to switch to satisfy the government's requirements if you lose your current insurance or want to change plans. READ THE REST @ CATO
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