I am just a poor old democrat from Arkansas, trying to get by, not nearly as smart or as well to do as you fancy republicans. I only have two points to add to this discussion.
1.This is the most important point of his commentary.
What a business owner actually earns vs. what they are tagged with earning as a result of all business income (most of which is never actually realized, but put back into the business) is astounding.
As a small business owner, I find the opposite to be true. I can write off almost half the money I earn as business expenses. My truck, my wife's vehicle, our phones, internet connection, computers, any travel, a large portion of the meals we eat out, and several other things my accountant thinks of that I don't. I'm actually earning close to twice as much as gets reported on my taxes, and it's all legal deductions. This reminds me of the old flat tax proposals. I'm all for a flat tax rate, as long as the rich have to account for ALL their income, not just what they take as a paycheck.
It said that 2 of the 5 different health care proposals being considered, had a stipulation that business owners who grossed over $500K in a year...HAD to provide/pay for health care coverage for their employees or face a stiff penalty. The other had a $250K cap.
So, if we gross more than $250K in our mom & pop law firm (2 Attorneys) we MUST pay for health insurance for our employees or be fined by Barrack Obama? Are you fucking kidding me??? We already pay a portion of their group plan and if we're successful, we're penalized regardless. Let me throw something out there. Even in this small firm, our total overhead is close to $30K per month. That means we have to earn that just to keep the doors open. If one of these proposals passes and we make just enough to cover our overhead, we now have to close our doors if we don't earn a hell of a lot more.
I feel sick.
2. I don't think the number will be $250k, that's awfully low. Regardless, the additional overhead will be no different than if they raised the minimum wage or the social security tax. Everyone will have to pay it, so when it gets passed on to the customer no one will notice. Besides, if you already pay into their health care plan, it's possible your costs will go down. The health care system is so screwed up, who can say? The last time I went to the doctor, they showed me my bill because my cobra coverage from my last job had run out. I took one look at the bill, told the lady I was paying cash and could she help me out. I ended up paying about 70% less than what she was going to charge the insurance company. Where was all that extra money going? Obviously to the insurance companies who are fighting so hard against reform.
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