Rep. Maffei (D): Cadillac Tax (which Obama says is "good idea") would hurt middle-class, retirees

[Bluebear]

Syracuse, N.Y. -- Rep. Dan Maffei, D-DeWitt, said today he opposes a proposed tax on high-cost insurance plans — so called “Cadillac” plans — because it would unfairly hit middle-class workers and retirees.

The proposed tax is one of the major sticking points as both houses of Congress try to reach a compromise on a health care reform bill. The Senate wants to pay the cost of providing coverage to more Americans by imposing an excise tax on plans that cost more than $8,500 for individuals and $23,000 for families starting in 2013. The average cost of a family health plan is $13,375, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

The House wants to pay for expanded coverage by imposing a tax on people with annual incomes of more than $1 million.

Maffei called the “Cadillac tax” one of the “most disturbing” aspects of the Senate health reform bill. He discussed the issue in a talk to more than 100 retired members of United Auto Workers Local 624 at the union’s office in East Syracuse. Unions oppose the tax.

“What they call a Cadillac plan might really be a Chevy plan here in Central New York and other high cost of living areas,” Maffei said. “It would have a huge affect on union workers in Central New York.”

http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2010/01/maffei_cadillac_tax_on_high-co.html

[NJmaverick]

1. How many times do you plan to post variations of the SAME STORY?

wasn't the first 3 or 4 times enough?

[Occulus]

3. I don't see the other three anywhere

:shrug:

[Bluebear]

6. He is actively opposed to anything populist.

[NJmaverick]

7. or "he" is simply opposed to spamming

:shrug:

[Bluebear]

9. Go discuss something "intellectually honest" somewhere else 89 times

then tell us about spamming. Or thread-hijacking.

[NJmaverick]

11. Don't worry you still have another 4 threads on the topic

[Bluebear]

12. Google has a hell of a lot more. Now why don't you stop thread-hijacking, corporatist?

[Occulus]

10. Except that Bluebear isn't spamming, either n/t

[Bluebear]

13. Google news has 2,251 hits for Cadillac tax. They are SPAMMING!!!1

:rofl:

Thanks for your support and interest on the topic, occulus, this is an odious piece of legislation.

[Occulus]

14. I've been online from the time that Mosaic was new and "the thing" to use

I know spamming when I see it, and posting articles from multiple people coming out and saying basically the same thing in series about an issue that concerns us all is most certainly not spamming.

It's almost as if NJmaverick would rather have the issues people have with the bill not be discussed...

[inna]

17. Bullshit. Bluebear's threads are helpful, informative and non-redundant.

They get lots of recs, too, in case you didn't notice. Use "hide thread" if you're unhappy and stop whining, please.

[Bluebear]

19. Merci.

:loveya:

[Bluebear]

5. Better than your simpleton posts, frankly. Ignore me & your problem is solved.

There are no other posts about Maffei, incidentally.

[dysfunctional press]

22. until everyone GETS it.

there are still some morans out there that just don't seem to...

[Bluebear]

25. Thank you.

[T Wolf]

2. If the Dems let this trash go through, they will lose even bigger in '10. There won't be

any union ground troops to counter the paid thugs from TeaBagville.

There will be less money for the effort.

And there will be a lot of pissed off people seeking revenge on the party that sold them out to the insurance corps.

Are they trying to get back into the minority?

[DJ13]

15. The party no longers believes they need the unions

They seem to think that the corporate money they're working to secure will buy enough ad time to counter the loss of union people on the ground.

They have lost their minds.

[Romulox]

4. k/r. nt

[amborin]

8. it will hurt 30 million + workers; and, thru "bracket creep," will affect more & more each year n/t

[invictus]

16. K&R

[t0dd]

18. K&R

[global1]

20. If They Want To Have Someone Pay A Tax On High Premium Plans......

then the insurance companies should be made to pay that tax. Maybe then they would keep the premiums in check.

[Faryn Balyncd]

24. That's exactly how it's being done....

The insurance company is taxed, and the tax is passed on in higher premiums.

Those who support this catastrophe say that it will result in premiums being reduced by forcing people to drop the plans, and choose less expensive plans.

They don't talk about the reality that the less expensive plans will within a few years inflate into the "Cadillac" territory, resulting in ALL plans being taxed, and ALL premiums being pushed up 40% more, as a result of the tax.

[ibegurpard]

21. cadillac tax brouhaha is a bogus argument

that is designed to make the stinking pile of manure more acceptable to us because we wrung at least one "concession" out of them when they drop it.

[dysfunctional press]

23. my father is a middle-class retiree, who would see taxes for he and my mother go up by $5,000/yr.

that's a LOT to someone on a fixed income, comprised of his pension and both their social security payments.

they will lose a LOT of lifetime dems if this legislation goes through.