via TPM -- CBO scores out the House Healthcare bill -- The Congressional Budget Office has just released its score of the House health care reform bill, which was unveiled this morning. The bill will reduce the deficit by $104 billion over the first 10 years, according to the CBO. It will also cost $894 billion. (President Obama has said he won't sign a bill that costs more than $900 billion.) Check out the full report, in PDF form, here .
So you're saying the health care bill is a vicious dinosaur that's going to slash our deficit by a hundred billion in the next decade? Excellent.
What exactly is the high income surcharge in the bill? I'm guessing I really need to read a summary of the bill.
The bill's other major new source of revenue is from a proposed income tax surcharge of 5.4 percent on wealthy earners, individuals making at least $500,000 a year and couples $1 million or more. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_health_care_overhaul
The few people I know in that bracket say they have no problem paying this extra surcharge if it benefits the passage of healthcare reform.
They really shouldn't, either. I wouldn't. If I make $500k+ and paying some more tax would help a ton of people get healthcare coverage, I'd do it in a heartbeat.
+1. These days, due to fundraising duties, I "dine regularly" with people in this bracket. They are 50/50 on Obama, 100% for major healthcare reform, and 100% scared of new possible financial regulation as applied to the VC world (due to fears of stifling tech. company innovation, etc.)
I'd qualify for medicaid, but my employer provides me with coverage. If my employer instead gave me the money, I'd make to much to qualify. I'm curious about these low income subsidies it mentions. I've wanted to see something like that because of the current all or nothing system. There's also this charge:
I'm won't look forward to my million dollar clients complaining about their tax bills going up. We are still a long way off from anything though, and I'm sure they'll get over whatever tax eventually.
If I made $500,000, the additional tax burden (3% higher marginal tax rate for income above $250,000) would be $7500. Let me be the first to say that I would be at the head of the line to pay my increased burden.
For those interested, I thought this detailed summary (pdf) of the house bill was a lot better and less of a sales pitch than some of the other summaries I've seen of the bill. And at only 10 pages it's actually possible to read it all.
The current house bill starts at $500,000 for individuals, not $250,000. And the rate increase is 5.4%, not 3%. But I think your point still stands.
I haven't made that much in my lifetime. The poster said wait until you have $500k before you say something like that, and then you still said you would. Don't assume what you would or would not be if you had more money. Its easy to say give me $100 and I'll give you ten. Its much harder to have a $100 and then give ten. Ultimately taxes will be raised, and the easiest way to do it is to tax higher and higher earners more and more, but that doesn't mean they won't groan when that tax bill comes.
