Legal Commentary

Trumka: Excise Tax Pits Poor v. Middle Class, Let's Wealthy Off The Hook

By Big Tent Democrat

Whatever the theoretical merits of the excise tax experiment as policy, it is a political disaster. Richard Trumka, President of the AFL-CIO, today at the National Press Club:

The bill rightly seeks to ensure that most Americans have health insurance. But instead of taxing the rich, the Senate bill taxes the middle class by taxing workers' health plans--not just union members' health care; most of the 31 million insured employees who would be hit by the excise tax are not union members.

The tax on benefits in the Senate bill pits working Americans who need health care for their families against working Americans struggling to keep health care for their families. This is a policy designed to benefit elites [. . .] at the expense of the broader public. It's the same tragic pattern that got us where we are today, and I can assure you the labor movement is fighting with everything we've got to win health care reform that is worthy of the support of working men and women.

(Emphasis supplied.) Imposing this experiment will exact a severe political cost on the Democratic Party. It is political malpractice.

Speaking for me only

Full post as published by TalkLeft on January 11, 2010 (boomark / email).