Posted by
Defend America on Wednesday, July 15, 2009 7:43:41 PM
So
what explains the crazy, cockeyed optimism of House Democrats? Maybe
they still believe Team Obama’s rosy-scenario forecast that shows the
stimulus package a) keeping unemployment under 8 percent this year and
b) launching an economic boom next year and beyond. For some reason,
though, they think the battered U.S. economy is so strong that
politicians can pile tax upon tax on it with no fear of further harm.
Less than three weeks after passing a costly cap-and-trade carbon
emission plan, Pelosi & Co. have giddily unveiled a $1.2 trillion
healthcare plan partially funded by a $544 billion surtax on the work
and investment income of wealthier Americans, including small business
owners.
[See why Obama's economic gamble is failing.]
The ten-year proposal calls for a 1 percent surtax on adjusted gross
income — including capital gains — between $350,000 and $500,000; a
1.5% surtax on income between $500,000 and $1 million; and a 5.4%
surtax on income exceeding $1 million. (Interestingly, the House fact
sheet on the surtax forgets to mention the highest tax rate. Hey, they
were in a rush.) How bad an idea is this? Let me count the ways:
It’s not the first Obama tax hike. This tax would
be in addition to the $1 trillion in new taxes that Obama called for in
his budget released earlier this year. (And then there’s cap and trade,
remember.) And if healthcare reform costs more than expected — what are
the odds of that, you think? — the surtax would go up.
http://blogs.reuters.com/james-pethokoukis/2009/07/15/9-reasons-pelosis-healthcare-surtax-is-disastrous/