General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Im all for single payer if you can write a bill that makes sense, but this bill is an embarrassment [View all]SunSeeker
(51,550 posts)It does not specify the amount nor who will be taxed and how. It is just a list of suggested funding mechanisms. The amount of the tax and the actual collection mechanism is all left up to potential future tax bills.
THIS is why the Vermont single payer law failed. Bernie was all over radio and TV pushing the Vermont single-payer law and it easily passed. But the Vermont single-payer law that he pushed was just an aspirational law that called for future legislation to be passed to pay for it. When it came to actually passing a tax bill to pay for Vermont's single-payer law, and they found out how much taxation they would actually need, everyone ran for the hills. No one wanted to defend the 12% tax increase on the middle class that it was calculated to take to pay for Vermont single-payer. The tax bill was never even brought to the floor. This, despite the fact that a 12% tax increase would still be cheaper than everyone paying for health insurance and co-pays. And mind you, this was in Vermont, the bluest of blue States. National single payer will involve similar numbers. What Dem, let alone Republican, will push for a 12% tax increase on the middle class?