General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsDoes the new HC reform increase taxes?
All my RW friends say so, and that's why companies aren't hiring. I looked into this, and I'm not exactly sure. It looks like there will be a tax on singles making over 200k and couples making over $250k. Is this right? Aside from the uninsured paying a tax, is the normal middle class person getting their taxes increased? And what about companies?
Recursion
(56,582 posts)The Medicare cap is lifted, some unearned income is levied, and there are various excises taxes (most famously on tanning booths).
democrattotheend
(11,605 posts)I was very excited about that. I feel strongly that it's unfair to have higher taxes for earned income than for unearned income and am very glad that they are going to start taxing unearned income for Medicare. They should look at doing the same for Social Security...that might be a better/good additional solution to raising the cap.
Recursion
(56,582 posts)Social Security isn't particularly having a problem, so I don't talk about "fixing" it much, but that would be a great way to improve it.
democrattotheend
(11,605 posts)And it really irks me when people say it doesn't. So what if it is solvent until 2036 - what about after that? I won't be old enough to retire until around 2050, and when people say there's no problem just because it's solvent until 2036, that feels to me like they are saying "oh, nothing needs to be done, there's enough there that I'll get mine."
I know that's probably not how you intended it, but that's how it comes across. And people on the left and right say that the longer we wait, the harder future beneficiaries will be hit by whatever changes they make.
Here is a good article I read earlier today. Investors.com is usually a right wing POS, but this article didn't feel like that. The author said Krugman is right about a lot of things but also makes the case for why something does need to be done now:
http://news.investors.com/blogs-capital-hill/121412-637115-krugman-right-and-wrong-on-social-security.htm?src=SThru&p=3
One of the points he makes is that because of the funding shortfalls in Medicare, there will be no room in the budget to accommodate Social Security if it needs more than what the trust fund has to pay out.
Recursion
(56,582 posts)There's no sense worrying about that now. And there's particularly no sense in increasing revenues or cutting benefits now so that we won't have to do that later.
democrattotheend
(11,605 posts)By starting the cuts earlier, the cuts will be less drastic down the line. If we just wait until there's not enough to fund full benefits they will have to make big and sudden cuts.
edhopper
(33,075 posts)it is a lie.
ACA has nothing to do with the current tax talks about the Bush Tax Cuts. Which you can tell you RW friends is the largest part of the debt and did nothing for the economy. (A study by the CBO said so)
SoCalDem
(103,856 posts)if they don't NEED more people, and some of the mega-bosses prefer to hoard cash, to create chaos that might stifle legislation that may eliminate their tricky deductions that enrich them.
Most people do not make over 200K, so most are probably not "worried".
If taxes go up, then taxes go up.
It's silly to engage in conversation with people who have such childish intellect that they allow FOX news talking points to "inform" them about such things.
PoliticAverse
(26,366 posts)when some companies may then cut some employee hours to under 30 hours per week (30 hours/week is the threshold
the ACA uses to define a 'full time' employee) or only hire people for part-time to avoid the tax.
As far as individuals, high income individuals will be subject to additional Medicare tax and there is also a 3.8% tax
added to unearned income (i.e. capital gains).
For a discussion of the new taxes (and credits)see:
http://www.bbdcpa.com/articles/tax-provisions-in-new-patient-protection-and-affordable-care-act/
http://www.healthcare.gov/news/factsheets/2011/08/small-business.html
http://www.irs.gov/uac/Affordable-Care-Act-Tax-Provisions
DesMoinesDem
(1,569 posts)There is also a $63 per head fee that starts in 2014 and lasts a few years.
http://www.salon.com/2012/12/10/companies_face_obamacare_pre_exisitng_condition_fee/
onlyadream
(2,156 posts)Im going to send my friend the links. I told her the facts as I knew them and it seems I was pretty much correct. I also told her that employers hire people when there is demand. Just looking at history, after wwII our tax rate was huge, and yet people were still finding employment. This flies in the face of th RW talking points.
This is why I love history. It provides empirical data to throw at these emotional, fox watching people. However, when I provide facts and graphs, they usually resort to a "well, that's the way I feel!" statement and end the conversation.