Recently, I pointed out Barack Obama’s habit of lying about John McCain’s health care plan. His favorite whopper is that McCain is going to tax everyone’s health benefits, and Joe Biden repeated that lie during the VP debate:
He taxes as income every one of you out there, every one of you listening who has a health care plan through your employer. That’s how he raises $3.6 trillion, on your — taxing your health care benefit …
In reality, McCain’s tax credit more than offsets any hit people will take pursuant to the tax change for employer-based insurance. Biden compounded the tax lie with another whopper about how much people pay for health care:
And then you’re going to have to replace a $12,000 — that’s the average cost of the plan you get through your employer — it costs $12,000. You’re going to have to pay — replace a $12,000 plan …
No Joe. That’s pure, unadulterated horse manure. The average family does not pay anywhere near $12,000 a year for health insurance. In reality, they pay only 28 percent of that amount. The average cost borne by employees is only $3,281.
The health care tax lie was not, of course, Biden’s only whopper. He told lie after lie about his and Obama’s records. The good news is that all the whoppers didn’t help clueless Joe.
Although the Obamatons are predictably in denial, Palin wiped the floor with the old wind bag. Palin is not merely right on health care and a wide variety of other issues, she rocks.
Comments 5
I watched the debate and I think Biden actually said that the average employer-based policy costs $12,000/year (obviously some is paid by the employer and some by the employee). He was saying that if you are dropped from your insurance plan, you will get a $5000 tax credit, but will have to pay the full price of the insurance ($12,000) yourself. Obviously, if you are dropped and are forced to pay for the insurance yourself (I dont’ think many people will actually be dropped due to the tax on health benefits, but, conceivably, benefits could be cut slightly), the McCain plan sucksass for you.
Posted 02 Oct 2008 at 11:16 pm ¶You’re one of my all time faves, K, but you’re wrong on this. He said precisely what I have quoted above.
Biden was obviously trying to create the false impression that McCain will raise everyone’s taxes, boot everyone off of their employer-based plan, and force us to pay $12,000 a year for health insurance. At this link, I explain in greater detail why that’s a load of BS on several levels.
Moreover, this Obama-Biden agitprop completely ignores the downward pressure a national insurance market and a repeal of benefit mandates (which McCain wants) would put on premiums.
Posted 02 Oct 2008 at 11:32 pm ¶‘The average family does not pay anywhere near $12,000 a year for health insurance. In reality, they pay only 28 percent of that amount. The average cost borne by employees is only $3,281.’
No, but if as projected his plan would see a lot of people no longer covered under a group employer plan, how do you see his tax credit and what people already pay buying an equivalent plan on the open market? And what is they have pre-existing conditions?
Posted 03 Oct 2008 at 5:03 am ¶“his plan would see a lot of people no longer covered under a group employer plan”
Wrong. You don’t grasp why employers provide health care insurance. They do it because it is a way of buying labor at a cheaper rate than would be the case if they paid straight wages.
The tax change would reduce that advantage a little, but the ability to buy insurance in large groups and give it to employees in lieu of wages will keep the employer-based system in place for those who need and want it.
Posted 03 Oct 2008 at 5:35 am ¶Regardless of the absolute crappiness of both candidate’s health proposals, I was shocked to see that most people thought Biden won. Anyone that knows his record and the issues could never have made that statement. He did well, but win? No.
Posted 03 Oct 2008 at 8:48 am ¶Trackbacks & Pingbacks 2
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