And yes, you are doing some seriously stellar heavy lifting with your posts.

I’m sure the most famous independent contractor, Treasury Sec. Geithner, who has experience using that status to cheat the IRS, will figure out a way to screw the rest of us IC’s.

An additional bit as reported in the Washington Times:

The top federal income tax rate would hit 45% in 2011, a level not seen since Reagan came into office.

The point that it is Dem-Socialists who want to turn back the clock on history might be a good point to make with other Americans.

I like Ed’s point about not technically outlawing private insurance but doing so for all practical purposes. That’s the sort of thing that will resonate with average Americans as a pointed-headed underhanded ‘it depend on what your definition of is is’ tactic. They don’t like that and are usually pretty good about making their voices heard when they suspect such shenanigans will affect them.

We need to keep our objections on broad themes. Here are some suggestions:

Job Killer
Deficit/Debt
Loss of Freedom
“Government” = Inept
“Healthcare” = Welfare

Those are just some that popped in my head.

Having been in the real estate industry since I was 21, you rarely had “employees.” The real estate offices were all “independent contractors.” This was both for legal purposes and for purposes of keeping employment costs and benefits low. This is what we will see happen to small business. Contract employees and independent contractors will become the norm, to cut back on government mandated health care costs. You will see small businesses require and independent contractor’s agreement be signed and then the independent contractor will be 1099 to reduce the small businesses income tax level. As a sole proprietor, I am fully aware that the cost of business insurance alone is enough to make you choke. I can only imagine what the cost of employment benefits must be.

In addition, you will see more outsourcing sent to India and China. Since starting my new graphic design business three years ago, I have had at minimum 15 calls from foreign companies (India) for custom web programming and flash design assistance and continue to I receive calls like this regularly. Since I believe in quality control and keeping jobs in the USA, I send my sub-contract work to local designers I have built a strong relationship with or I learn how to do the custom programming myself. But, for other small businesses in manufacturing, that have slim profit margins already, that see the “pennies on the dollar” difference to ship work over seas; we will see “mom & pop” shops shipping jobs over seas at a rate that big businesses are (these are small businesses that would have never considered outsourcing their manufacturing to hurting overseas companies, but will finally take the plunge looking for an “out” from the current government’s business destroying tactics).

One thing about small business - they will never fail at figuring out a way to make a dollar. It is the American way, one the Democrats have forgotten….unless it is getting tax dollars.

….the cause of freedom is too important to let those who are incapable of self-sufficiency distory it. Remember, to us, slavery and tyranny are far-fetched concepts that history has righted — but to history, the far-fetched concept is the idea that men should be free.

From, The Case Against An Out-Of-Control Government, Glenn Beck’s Common Sense. Yes I’m one of those rodeo clowns, but IMHO this is a better strategy(h/tColdWarrior)

When we first saw the paragraph Tuesday, just after the 1,018-page document was released, we thought we surely must be misreading it. So we sought help from the House Ways and Means Committee.
It turns out we were right: The provision would indeed outlaw individual private coverage. Under the Orwellian header of “Protecting The Choice To Keep Current Coverage,” the “Limitation On New Enrollment” section of the bill clearly states:
“Except as provided in this paragraph, the individual health insurance issuer offering such coverage does not enroll any individual in such coverage if the first effective date of coverage is on or after the first day” of the year the legislation becomes law.
So we can all keep our coverage, just as promised — with, of course, exceptions: Those who currently have private individual coverage won’t be able to change it. Nor will those who leave a company to work for themselves be free to buy individual plans from private carriers.

And as Ed says

Does this bill outlaw private insurance? Literally, no, but in practical terms, it makes it an endangered species and creates an American single-payer system by default.

Sure looks that way to me, but I’m a mere dyslexic carpenter who happened to watch his mother die waiting for government run healthcare, but we have to be NICE and understanding about these things.

Even if a small business does offer insurance, they are still required to pay a payroll tax if an employee chooses to opt out and enter the government plan.

As it is a doubled edge sword. What incentives are in the beast to encourage poeple to opt for the government plan? If the owner offers insurance and only half of his employee opt for it, the owners ability to gain a good price on said insurance decreases i.e the cost goes up, making it less attractive for the owner to offer it in the first place. Put another way if the insurance premium is not less than 8% of the small biss payroll it’s not worth offering it.