Very, very interesting tidbit from The Wall Street Journal. Apparently, when you read between the lines of this story, Democrats realized that they were going to suffer a vicious backlash if they started taxing health care benefits. They attempt to make it sound cool and calculating, but you can smell the fear here:
Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., said that public polls conducted over the July 4 congressional recess and reviewed by senators are causing lawmakers to have second thoughts about limiting the tax exclusion for employer health plans.
“It remains a significant option, but we’re looking at other options,” Conrad told a group of reporters Tuesday. “When you go out and ask people across the country, their initial reaction is, they don’t like it.”
…..
“The exclusion issue is especially difficult,” said Conrad. “Given input from the polling and from our colleagues, any prudent person would say, OK, what are the alternatives?”
In other words, these poll numbers were not sort of bad – they were disastrously bad. Third rail bad.
There is only one way these people can convince the taxpayers that this “solution” to health care is not going to screw the taxpayers over: Congress and all Federal employees (including the occupant of the White House) would have to be given the exact, same health care they are forcing on the rest of America. No more super-deluxe health care at taxpayer expense.
This, of course, will never happen.
