Bush doesn't know that employees pay health care premiums

[Rose Siding]

from a kos diary-
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/1/26/862/25848

George W. Bush at a health care initiatives roundtable in Lee's Summit Missouri, yesterday:

"One way to encourage you to make the right decisions when it comes to health care is to take the inequities out of the tax code. If you work for a company, you pay — you get your health care free, in essence. It’s part of the benefit package. If you’re a stand-alone person, you pay your health care on an after-tax basis. In other words, there’s discrimination in the tax code based upon who you work for. It makes it harder for people to be able to — individuals or small company employees to be able to buy health care."

The president is a clueless IDIOT. He doesn't have even a basic understanding of the issues. He doesn't read and his sycophants must not explain any details or they ALL think it's 195something. It's FREE??? MY free employee provided insurance costs us about as much as the diarist's does.

Just one more reason to appreciate what feels like a brand new safety net:

...(Pelosi) rejected the proposal for a tax deduction for health insurance that was a centerpiece of his speech.

In all, she left no doubt that Democrats who now run the House and Senate intend to control the agenda. And, on domestic policy, Pelosi — not Bush — is now arguably the nation's most powerful force.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/01/25/politics/main2397489.shtml

[redqueen]

1. This man is such an embarassment.

I can hear the stuttering when I read the garbled, tortured text.

*sigh*

[abluelady]

2. What is that $600

deduction coming out of my paycheck each month? Hmmm What a moron.

[AndyA]

3. How could Bush possibly know ANYTHING about the real world?

His life has always been lived up on the veranda, looking down at the rest of America. He doesn't have a clue, never has, and never will unless Congress finds the balls to make this guy accountable for his actions for the first time in his life!

It's fine with me if he wants to screw up his own life, but leave the rest of the world alone, OK?

[Gormy Cuss]

4. No, he's not clueless. He's a liar.

There is no way that he could be unaware of the average cost to workers of employer provided group health insurance. He may choose to ignore the data put in front of him because it doesn't support his policy agenda, but there is no chance that his stack of expert advisers could have forgotten to make such a calculation and present it to the White House.

I think what he's hoping is that the average worker doesn't calculate the true cost of employer provided insurance and buys his line of crap instead. In addition to the out of pocket expenses, the cost includes the rest of the premium paid by one's employer and the administrative costs of managing the plan. Even if one's out of pocket cost is low, the cost to replace the plan with an individually purchased one is much higher than most people realize.

[yy4me]

5. Did you hear John Stewart's take on this issue?

He noted that the money to pay for affordable health insurance for those in need...the lower income groups, would be reflected on their taxes. How can you save on your taxes if your income is so low that you do not pay any taxes. God, this man is deluded in thinking he understands anything. Even the cheapest policy is very expensive and has all kinds of exclusions. If you do not earn enough to pay the thousands of dollars the cheapest policy costs, how can you buy it? These same "cheap" policies have huge deductibles. Say you could squeeze out the payments, by the time you meet the deductibles, you are in debt up to your ears. This proposal of ****'s is stupid. Then again, look who is proposing it.

[Rose Siding]

10. I did see that. That bit summed it up well.

[Lowell]

6. The only employer I can think of who has free insurance

is the government. The military and the congress. They can't take anymore from the military, but now congress . . . hmmm. This will never fly.

[demrabble]

8. Government Employees Do Not Get Free Health Insurance

Government employees pay part of the premium for their health insurance.

And, in most cases, they have deductibles and co-pays as part of their health insurance.

[Rose Siding]

9. Then he was really out there floating in the ether on this one

That only leaves the Fortune 500. Maybe *they* still get health care in there benefit package.

[valerief]

7. Bush gets free health care. We don't. nt