As the old saying goes, you can pick your poison. But now matter how you slice it, taking over health care and creating a government-run plan is going to be very expensive. Charlie Rangel and the Democrats might start by taxing Medicare for $344 billion in new taxes, then adding a new tax on soda for $112 billion, a new alcohol tax for $61 billion, and a new tax on employer-provided health care for $200 billion - but that still leaves them more than $3 trillion short.
Nevertheless, they are gamely going at it - studying all the possible ways they can think of to gouge you for the privilege of ruining your health care:
Every one of House Ways and Means Chairman Charles Rangel’s proposed options is controversial, and runs the risk of angering interest groups ranging from the small business lobby to the moribund newspaper industry. Rangel is considering a new $37.5 billion tax raised by denying deductions taken by pharmaceutical companies for prescription drug advertising expenses, for example…
Taxing employer-provided health coverage in excess of federal employee benefits is an option described, although clearly not the preferred one in the House. Unions oppose that plan, which has more momentum in the Senate…
