Lame answer about an important issue

(Guestpost from Drew)

There’s been a lot of talk lately about how Obamacare will kill your grandmother, or result in “death panels,” or just cause an overall rationing of medicine. There’s talk about how you can always switch between insurance companies when you’re unsatisfied (or, crazy thought, pay for your own medicine in cash) whereas with government bureacrats there is no running away. There’s talk about the inefficiency of the post office, and how the government cannot run anything effectively. Every now and then we even hear people mention the pyramid scheme of Social Security. But there’s one big problem that people are failing to focus on – mainly because it’s not quite as emotional as Obama’s plan to let grandma waste away. The problem I’m talking about is this:  We cannot afford the Obamacare monstrosity.

Bush Deficits versus Obama Deficits

At yesterday’s DNC Town Hall, Obama fielded one semi-hostile question about this topic from a guy named Randy:

We keep getting the bull. That’s all we get is bull. You can’t tell us how you’re gonna pay for this:  You’re saving here, you’re saving over there, you’ll take a little money here, you’ll take a little money there, but you have no money. And the only way your gonna get that money is to raise our taxes, you said you wouldn’t.

Obama’s response:

You are absolutely right…

Then Obama went on to explain how he plans only to raise taxes on the people earning $250,000+ per year.

This is an important issue. We need to grow the economy, not cripple it, if we want to escape the recession. When you raise taxes on these successful individuals, many of whom manage small businesses, you cripple the economy. If successful individuals know that the government will rob them to give out (mediocre) health insurance to other people, they stop wasting their time working so hard.

After the event, this same questioner told reporters that he was glad Obama will not raise his taxes. Ahh, always so noble when men look out for the common good…

But unfortunately for Randy, the truth will prove somewhat more disappointing. The CATO Institute has recently reported that the Obama tax hikes cannot possibly remain limited only to the “rich.”

Funding the new health-care plan on the backs of households making $200,000 or more per year would require permanently increasing their annual total tax payments by about 50 percent. So, for example, a household that currently pays $50,000 in federal income taxes would need to pay another $25,000. Remember, however, that Social Security and Medicare already face enormous shortfalls. Shoring up these programs — another Obama campaign promise — would require collecting 328 percent more tax revenue from the rich. No, we didn’t forget a decimal point: That is three hundred and twenty-eight percent.

So…Sorry, Randy! Obama just lied to you, and your taxes are going up, too! Don’t feel bad, though. It happens to the best of us.

This plan will not only kill your grandmother and create a new Post Office-type bureacracy causing tears and gnashing of teeth for everyone, but it will also raise taxes on everyone. It will bankrupt this once-great nation. Please tell me people are not foolish enough to let this proposal pass.