Obama suggests tax credit for business health care - an idea championed by Sen. Clinton

[Hope And Change]

Obama suggests tax credit for business health care

By Glen Johnson
Associated Press Writer / July 13, 2008

SAN DIEGO—Barack Obama on Sunday proposed up to a 50-percent tax credit for small businesses providing health insurance to their employees, a program he hopes has special appeal to Hispanics and other minority groups struggling for a toehold in the U.S. economy.

The idea had been championed by Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, whom Obama vanquished in the battle for the Democratic presidential nomination.

"We know that small businesses are the engines of economic prosperity in our communities, especially in Latino communities," Obama said in an address to several thousand Hispanics attending the annual convention of the National Council of La Raza.

"My plan won't impose any new burdens on small businesses. Instead, we'll help them not just create new jobs, but good jobs -- jobs with health care, jobs that stay right here in America, the kinds of jobs we need in our communities," the Illinois senator said.

While the precise cost and details of the program were not immediately available, a campaign statement said the "credit would be fully available to small firms, and would be phased out for medium-sized firms. It would also be phased out for small firms with high-income employees."


http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/07/13/obama_suggests_credit_for_business_health_care/?rss_id=Boston.com+--+Latest+news">Read The Entire Aticle Here

----------------------------------------


Statement from Clinton Spokesman ElleitheeSenator Clinton and Senator Obama are fully united around the goal of ensuring that all Americans have affordable quality health coverage. She’s gratified that he is adding a proposal similar to hers for tax credits for small businesses. She’s long said that it is an important tool in empowering small businesses to make a voluntary choice to provide health insurance for their employees to keep them productive and their businesses competitive. Senator Clinton believes that the inclusion of such a measure makes Senator Obama’s health plan even stronger than it was before, and she salutes him for doing so.

–Clinton spokesman Mo Elleithee


http://thepage.time.com/statement-from-clinton-spokesman-elleithee/">Link

[Cleita]

1. Single payer universal health care would make this unnecessary.

However, I'm not against giving small businesses tax breaks for other reasons.

[geek tragedy]

2. There's nothing wrong with stealing good ideas

that will help people.

[rwenos]

3. It's an Interim Step, but

It could neutralize the "anti-business" bullshit we always hear from the Pubs.

Business is always better under the Dems. Ask any concrete contractor how many freeways they would be willing to build under a big infrastructure build-up.

The Pubs think they can navigate without roads, in their Hummers.

[mrreowwr_kittty]

5. Small biz owners need to wake up to that fact

The National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB) consistently supports Republican candidates and conservative policies, despite most of them being diametrically opposed to the interests of small businesses and self employed people. It's like all they hear is "tax cuts" and they plug their ears to everything else.

[elkston]

4. I haven't read the article, but it should be noted that...

Obama credited Senator Clinton for the idea in his speech. He didn't just rattle it off like it was one of his original policies.

You don't get that from the quote snippets printed here, but he did say it.

[Hope And Change]

6. Yeah.I saw the speech on CNN and can confirm that Obama said that.For some strange reason...

the AP article didn`t mention anything about it.Hmmmm...