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Tuesday, 13 February 2007 18:31 |
 | | Carl S. Milsted, Jr. |
An astonishing thing happened during President Bushís latest State of the Union address: George Bush actually proposed something good ñ nay, great!
George Bush, ìthe man from Halliburton,î the epitome of pork-barrel Republicanism, called for the biggest blow against wage serfdom in decades.
Not only that, in one fell swoop, he dealt a blow against poverty, the main cause of middle-class bankruptcy, a major hindrance to U.S. competitiveness, and the impending bankruptcy of the federal government.
Much
as Bill Clinton shaped up and became a rather good president after
losing control of Congress, it appears that George W. Bush is likewise
benefiting from the spanking he received at the polls last November.
Too bad it had to wait six years instead of two, as it was for Clinton.
So what am I talking about? you might ask.
I am referring
to Bushís health-care proposal, in particular his proposal to make
employer provided insurance taxable while giving individuals a flat-tax
deduction for having health coverage, regardless of the source or
expense. This idea is brilliant, attacking multiple problems with one
change in the tax code.
For starters, it
allows free agents to get a tax deduction for health insurance. No
longer must you be tied to your employer in a lord-serf relationship to
get a good deal on health insurance. Job hopping becomes easier as well
as self-employment.
This could be a
boon to small business. Setting up a contract for employee health
insurance is a major bit of overhead for a small startup. Meanwhile,
big corporations already have the sunk cost of a human resources
department staffed with experts in such matters.
This plan could
be a boon for alternative medicine. I, for one, would choose a
health-care plan that is more open to alternative medicine than the
plan my employer provides. Or, I would opt for cheaper catastrophic
coverage and pay the alternative doctor bills out of pocket with the
savings.
This plan could
put a damper on runaway health-care costs that are bankrupting
families, corporations and the federal government itself. The new plan
gives a flat deduction for being covered. This gives insurance buyers
more incentive to shop, probably opting for less coverage for the small
stuff and more paying doctors directly.
Under the
current system, the more medical bills that are paid by a third party,
the lower the tax. This has effectively put the upper classes on
something like welfare, creating moral hazards that are destroying the
market for medical care.
The plan is more
progressive, as it is a deduction on gross income both for income and
Social Security taxes. This means that the deduction is interesting to
poorer workers who pay little, if any, income tax currently.
So, message to
progressives: the spanking worked; George Bush has proposed a
progressive, anti-corporate plan to fix the health-care system. Be
happy. Try to contain your oppose-everything-Bush-does reflex.
That doesnít
mean the Democrats should pass this plan without adding a few tweaks.
It is possible to make this plan even more progressive, while making it
better. Stay tuned.
ï
Carl S. Milsted Jr., chairman of the Libertarian Party of Buncombe County, may be contacted at cmilsted-at-holisticpolitics.org.
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