Lies, Damned Lies, and Health Care Polls

Ezra Klein points to a new ABC/WaPo poll showing a solid majority support "a law that requires all Americans to have health insurance, either getting it from work, buying it on their own, or through eligibility for Medicare or Medicaid." Further, the same poll finds a third of those who oppose would switch sides "if the government gave financial assistance ...

Health Care Reform Tax on Low Income Earners

James Capretta does a back of the envelope calculation on the Baucus health care reform bill and concludes that it would be like having a 70% marginal tax rate on the low income. According to CBO, family coverage in 2016 is likely to cost about $14,400 under the so-called “silver option” in the health-care reform plan sponsored by Senate Finance Committee ...

9/12 Protests

Yesterday, somewhere between "tens of thousands" and "two million" people flooded the nation's capital to protest somethingoranother. Thousands Rally in Capital to Protest Big Government (Jeff Zeleny, NYT) [caption id="attachment_41802" align="alignright" width="400" caption="Amanda Lucidon for The New York Times"][/caption] A sea of protesters filled the west lawn of the Capitol and spilled onto the National Mall on Saturday in the largest rally against ...

President Obama = President Carter?

That is what Matt Welch and Nick Gillespie argue in their Washington Post article. Barely six months into his presidency, Barack Obama seems to be driving south into that political speed trap known as Carter Country: a sad-sack landscape in which every major initiative meets not just with failure but with scorn from political allies and foes alike. According to a ...

Stupid Chart of the Day

Conor Clarke has devised the following chart of the federal effective tax rate paid by the wealthiest 1% over the last 15 years: While he doesn't "love the idea," he think it justifies paying for health care for the poor by taxing the rich.  Kevin Drum agrees, adding, The basic story is simple: As their incomes have gotten ever higher, their ...

Health Reform Politics

Mickey Kaus calls Ezra Klein a "concern troll" for his "unsettling thought" that: [H]ealth-care reform isn't simply suffering because the public is overly opposed to some of its revenue raisers. It's suffering because the public is insufficiently supportive of its core. ... [snip] [I]t's not obvious what health-care reform will do for the average American. I could give you a long answer ...

Yet Another Appointee with Tax Problems

Capricia Penavic Marshall, President Obama's nominee for chief of protocol at State (an ambassadorial position) failed to file taxes in 2005 and 2006.  She filed late in November, citing various excuses that are ever-so-slightly plausible. Marshall joins Timothy Geithner, Tom Daschle, Nancy Killefer, and others.  (And eventually-to-be Senator Al Franken got a jump on all of them.) [UPDATE: It's noteworthy, as ...

Birmingham Cuts Services After Losing Tax Money

[caption id="attachment_37326" align="alignright" width="400" caption="Penny Payton, far right, had waited more than 1½ hours at the Center Point satellite courthouse Friday to buy her car tag and still had more than 20 people in line in front of her. The office is one of the satellite courthouses the Jefferson County Commission is set to discuss closing to save money. (Jeff ...

Just Prisoners There, Of Their Own Device

Jon Henke Twitters: "The California referendum proves that what voters want to spend is not well-connected with what voters are willing to pay." Quite right.  Californian Kevin Drum takes as a given that his state is "broken" but sees no solution in sight.  While he's in favor of Governor Schwarzenegger's idea of a constitutional convention to fix some of the institutional ...

Taxing Beer to Pay Doctors

USA Today reports on a proposal circulating in the Senate Finance Committee to fund health care through sin taxes on booze. Beer taxes would go up by 48 cents a six-pack, wine taxes would rise by 49 cents per bottle, and the tax on hard liquor would increase by 40 cents per fifth. Proceeds from the new taxes would help cover ...

Obama Winners and Losers

I mentioned Newt Gingrich's article "Are You an Obama Winner? Or an Obama Loser?" at the tail end of Wednesday's episode of OTB Radio ("Republican Party, RIP?") but never got around to blogging it.  It is both a classic Frank Luntz-inspired use of obnoxious language to paint a dire picture of the Democrats -- and thereby quite amusing -- and ...

British Celebs Fight Taxation with Representation

In my New Atlanticist piece, "British Revolt of the Artists," I take a slightly tongue-in-cheek look at the threats of  Michael Caine and Andrew LLoyd Webber to leave the UK if a Labour plan to raise taxes goes through. While refraining from gratuitous Alec Baldwin references, I do point out that, "Rich artists are perhaps not best spokesmen for this cause, ...

Great Minds Think Alike

A Gallup poll showing that 48% of Americans believe their federal income tax burden is "about right," and 46% saying it's "too high" has naturally generated some conversation. Both Dave Schuler and Kevin Drum, though, looked behind the numbers and realized the 48% figure isn't so impressive once you factor in the fact that somewhere between 40% and 50% of Americans ...

Ari Fleischer’s Flat Tax

Ari Fleischer's WSJ column "It's Bad for Our Democracy to Exempt Half the Country From Income Taxes" is attracting widespread commentary, mostly along predictable party lines. While I agree with the basic premises (see, for example, "Class Warfare: Framing the Debate") I am rather dubious of his actual programmatic prescription: I favor the abolition of all Social Security, Medicare and estate taxes. ...

Obama’s Tax Pledge

Isn't true if you engage in a lifestyle that most people find icky. You know that pledge that if you make less than $250,000/year you won't see an increase in your taxes? Yeah, well not if you smoke. One of President Barack Obama's campaign pledges on taxes went up in puffs of smoke Wednesday. The largest increase in tobacco taxes ...