Pirate's Cove

OK, there is really no sex in this, but, caught your attention, right? Health care is generally a boring subject to discus….zzzzzzzz. Where was I? Right. A rather boring subject, like taxes. But, it is something that affects us all, and the Democrats will make SURE that it affects us all even more, right in our wallets/purses/bag stuffed in the mattress

House Democrats on Tuesday unveiled sweeping health-care legislation that would hit all but the smallest businesses with a penalty equal to 8% of payroll if they fail to provide health insurance to workers.

The House bill, which also would impose new taxes on the wealthy estimated to bring in more than $544 billion over a decade, came as lawmakers in the Senate raced against a self-imposed deadline of this week to introduce a bill in time for action this summer.

Is there anything that “the wealthy” won’t be paying for? I wonder what the Dems will do when spending from “the rich” goes down, and they start moving more of their money offshore?

Under the House measure, employers with payrolls exceeding $400,000 a year would have to provide health insurance or pay the 8% penalty. Employers with payrolls between $250,000 and $400,000 a year would pay a smaller penalty, and those less than $250,000 would be exempt. Certain small firms would get tax credits to help buy coverage.

The relatively low thresholds for penalties triggered the sharpest criticism yet from employer groups, who said the burden on small business is too high and doesn’t do enough to help them expand insurance coverage.

But, wait a second, Steny Hoyor told CNS News that small business do not make more than $250 a year, the typical Democrat talking point. Oh, um, Steny?

According to 2006 data from the federation, businesses with between five and nine workers, representing about one million employers, had an average payroll of around $375,000 a year. A report from the Kaiser Family Foundation found that only about half of firms with three to nine workers offered health benefits in 2008.

And at least half of the so-called 45 million uninsured Americans chose to not purchase. But, don’t worry, government will force them to be covered. All to fix, well, something

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi unveiled the measure on Tuesday, praising it as a historic step toward insuring all Americans that has eluded lawmakers for decades. “This bill is a starting point and a path to success to lower costs to consumers and businesses,” the California Democrat said.

How? By raising taxes? By nailing companies that do not offer insurance? That is the part I wish would be asked: “how?” That’s what is missing.

The House bill would place new taxes on the wealthiest people to help expand insurance coverage to the nation’s 46 million uninsured people. The legislation calls for a 5.4% surtax on those with annual gross incomes exceeding $1 million.

And a tax for global warming and a tax for this and a tax for that and hey, let’s raise their taxes just because they are rich and not grasshoppers.

Fine, here’s your sex

Crossed at Right Wing News and Stop The ACLU