Health Care Reform and Economic Recovery are Not Mutually Exclusive
The Democrats have put forth their health care reform package and sent it to committee. Once again, Democrats have made it clear that they are going to look to the *wealthy* to shoulder a significant portion of the financial burden of their legislative agenda.
Enclosed within the latest bill is a surcharge on those earning more that $350,000/ year and ramps up to as much as a 5% surcharge on those making more than $1,000,000/ year. The wealthier americans will not get much sympathy from the public, and to a point that is understandable.
But the public must keep this in mind: The purchasing power of employers and employed americans drive our economic engine.
If the unemployment rate is rising (and is likely 12% due to how the administration fudges the real numbers) then there are a lot of people hurting out there who have no money to spend and help drive our economy. There are no bridges being built, no new roads, I do not see a national grid popping up in my backyard ... but we did spend 16 million dollars to make sure a mouse is happy in Pelosi's district. But I digress...
The point is this... if there are no new jobs being created, and a huge number of unemployed Americans, then who is going to begin spending money to kick start the economy? The *wealthy*? Probably not. If the wealthy americans are possibly looking at a marginal tax rate of 60-65% and further taxes or *surcharges* to shoulder the burden of a very costly legislative agenda then they are not going to be spending money on big ticket items until the dust settles and they can get a handle on their own financial situation. In addition, many of these *wealthy* american are small business owners. I assure you they will not be adding people to their tax rolls until they fully comprehend the financial impact of the administrations agenda. So, fewer new jobs, more unemployed, and fewer people with discretionary income they are willing to spend.
I would argue that the health care reform efforts and the recovery of our economy are not mutually exclusive issues, and the reason why is not because of the cost of health care, instead I would argue that it is because of reform efforts and the burden the Democrats are shifting onto certain segments of the population.
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