The recent bipartisan calls to remove the tax on medical devices demonstrates (once again) the stranglehold corporate interests exert on our democracy. You may recall that the tax was intended to contribute between $20 - $30 billion in revenues (over the next ten years) as part of the Affordable Care Act. Here’s a FAQ link from IRS for background info.
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities makes the case for why repealing this tax is not such a good idea:
Repealing the tax would undercut health reform in at least two ways. Pay-as-you-go procedures would require Congress to offset the cost of repeal by increasing other taxes or reducing spending; one likely target would be the provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that expand health coverage to 27 million more Americans. Also, repealing the tax would encourage efforts to repeal other revenue-raising provisions of the ACA, which in turn would either require still more painful offsets or increase the budget deficit (if Congress failed to offset the cost).
Link to full article
When we hear msm repeat talking points of “reduce the deficit,” “cut spending,” “live within our means,” etc. - well, it makes me want to scream “Tax the Rich!”
“Tax the Rich!” is short and succinct and gets to the point. And deserves to be heard loud and clear in msm and in our public discourse (imho).
What say ye?