There are some truly compelling arguments for why Republicans might turn away from immediate repeal of Obamacare. Compelling, that is, if you believe that there's something alive within the GOP beyond nihilism. Then there's this, which pretty much guarantees they'll just blunder right on to repeal, damn the consequences.
The Tax Policy Center, a nonpartisan nonprofit based in Washington that provides analysis of tax issues in policy, finds in a new report that the net effect of Obamacare repeal is a massive tax cut for the rich.
TPC estimates that the top 1 percent of earners would get an average tax cut of $33,000 if Obamacare is repealed — and those in the top 0.1 percent would get an average tax cut of $197,000.
Meanwhile, those who earn less would actually see their taxes, on average, go up. This is because most of the tax subsidies to purchase insurance coverage through the marketplace go to low-income Americans. TPC estimates that, on average, Americans who are in the bottom quarter of earners would see their taxes increase by $90.
Tax cuts for the wealthy? That's all Republicans need to hear. In fact, that's all they will hear. Because nothing else matters. At all.
And it's what Democrats need to talk about whenever they talk about Obamacare repeal—just one more example of Republicans putting the top 0.1 percent ahead the 99.9 percent.