Obama Is Pressed to Tax Health Benefits

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/14/AR2009061402769.html?wpisrc=newsletter&wpisrc=newsletter&wpisrc=newsletter

Let's analyze this. The goal is to cover those 40 million, approximately 16% of all Americans without health insurance and this proposal taxes the 84% of Americans who do have health insurance to raise the revenue to do it. Have we now surrendered our belief in the microeconomic fact that when we raise the price of a good or service, whether through market forces (supply and demand) or government taxation, we get less of it? Maybe someone has a new "feeling " that negates this market principle. I think this is crazy.

My solution to the problem. First, mandate through law that all Americans have health insurance the same way we have for car insurance, making sure that those who opt out on their own accord can no longer do this. Second, raise the medicare tax by the amount necessary to add the those uninsured, making certain that when they can afford to pay for their own insurance the government coverage ends. For states like Minnesota that have their own "Minnesota Care" - Medicare type program, -the Federal Program would be pre-emptive. Under this scenario, like Medicare, all currently uninsured Americans would get equal insurance regardless of the state they live in. This does not, of course, guarantee equal care. That is not possible.

Unless there is a public consensus that Medicare is a bad program or that seniors are more important Americans than the rest of us, this is the only common sense way to proceed.