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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWhy Republicans hate the Affordable Care Act
by JOHN E. MCDONOUGH
THIS WEEK, THE US House of Representatives will take up reconciliation legislation, amended and approved in the US Senate last month, that would drill major, damaging holes in the Affordable Care Act. Though the bill has zero chance of becoming law because of a certain veto by President Obama, it is by the Democrats count the 61st time the House has voted to repeal all or significant parts of the health reform law.
Why, people often ask me, do Republicans hate the ACA so much?
This past weeks New York Times Upshot article, I believe, provides a major part of the answer. Briefly, Its the taxes on the wealthy, stupid. Specifically, its about two new Medicare taxes that went into effect in 2013 only on higher income Americans.
ACA Medicare Part A Payroll Tax: Beginning in 2013, individuals with earnings above $200,000 and married couples making more than $250,000 got an increase in the Medicare part A payroll tax of 2.35 percent, up from 1.45 percent (a 0.9 percent increase), on adjusted income over the threshold. (2016-25 take = $123 billion.)
ACA Unearned Income Tax: This same group also now pays a new 3.8 percent unearned income (capital gains) tax on interest, dividends, annuities, royalties, rents, and gains on the sale of investments over the threshold. (2016-25 take = $222.8 billion.)
Its a lot of money and its a lot of money taken exclusively from the top 5 percent of Americas wealthiest ($345.8 billion between 2016-25).
As the Times article makes clear, these new taxes are so damn big (when combined with higher taxes from the 2012 American Taxpayer Relief Act) that both increases literally reversed the majority of the last 20 years decline in the effective tax rate of Americas 400 wealthiest taxpayers!
more
http://commonwealthmagazine.org/health-care/why-republicans-hate-the-affordable-care-act/
uriel1972
(4,261 posts)call the WAAAAAAAAAAAAHmbulance....
world wide wally
(21,740 posts)Wellstone ruled
(34,661 posts)their will be zero Brown Skinned People,and the Corporate Structure will decide whom will have Health Care,and remember the Insurance Companies are about Profit.
Wounded Bear
(58,627 posts)somebody has to do the real work. They just won't be, you know, citizens or anything.
Wellstone ruled
(34,661 posts)Fascist Germany used mostly white skinned political slaves during their reign. This appears to be the Rethugs model for their single party State.
Jim Beard
(2,535 posts)Here is a poor brownskin as you say, and he is mad at Obama for his his insurance penalty. He drives a beat up old jeep type truck with a Cruz bumper sticker. I was Democratic Party Chairman but because of this type crap and pure hell in a rural red county in Texas, I QUITE. I need to stay alive and SANE.
Wellstone ruled
(34,661 posts)heard the same damn thing Thursday from the HOA Maintenance Guy. He and his brother are Private bid for hire Contractors and he was just bitching how much they had to pay for insurance thru ACA. These two Guys never had Insurance for themselves or their families ever. Used the ER as their backup and it is all Obama's fault that now they have to have Insurance or pay a penalty. Same crap,Trump sticker on the back of his pick/up truck. Asked him about the Bumper Sticker,oh yah,he will make it great for us Hispanics. Where did you heard that load of B.S.,on the local Hispanic talk radio. Just can not make this shit up. Are the people in this country blessed with such a low I.Q.?
GoneFishin
(5,217 posts)... the majority of the last 20 years decline in the effective tax rate of Americas 400 wealthiest taxpayers! "
SheilaT
(23,156 posts)of health care, especially free or reasonably priced health care, for others. Especially if those others have brown or black skin, or are poor. They think others should suffer. They're simply mean people.
Proud Liberal Dem
(24,402 posts)n/t
Wounded Bear
(58,627 posts)IMHO they just hate the idea that somebody can't make a profit off of it. For them, the 'suffering' is just leverage for the providers.
mmonk
(52,589 posts)but I need to come up with some sort of plan.