3 ms·

So... if it wouldn't do any harm, why not give all Americans the same tax benefits which are currently enjoyed by those with employer-sponsored health benefits?

• georgemcbay 12y ago
  "why not give all Americans the same tax benefits which are currently enjoyed by those with employer-sponsored health benefits?" Because large companies have a hugely skewed amount of political power due to campaign finance and lobbying and while I don't think they (large corps) engineered the current system purposefully, I do believe they recognize that it is beneficial for them to maintain it as it helps to keep the wage slaves in line.
• orangecat 12y ago
  IIRC McCain tried in 2008. It was partially financed by taxing expensive employer-provided plans, and was promptly demogogued as "taking away your existing insurance". Would you not agree that treating all citizens equally, and giving them the freedom to choose how and where they get their healthcare would be an improvement on the current system? Of course. Economists all over the spectrum agree that either individual insurance should be tax-deductible or employer-provided insurance should be taxed. But it will never happen, because politics. See http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2012/07/19/157047211/six-policies-economists-love-and-politicians-hate http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2012/07/19/157047211/six-poli...
• dragonwriter 12y ago
  > So I'd suggest that net neutrality is actually a side show here, the real culprit is monopolies. If you mean why not excluded premiums from taxation for all health insurance (with the same limits applied to the pre-tax status of employer-paid health insurance premiums), that's probably a good idea. (Of course, a substantial number of individual purchasers get better tax treatment as individual purchasers through the ACA exchanges by way of the tax credit for premiums.) > Would you not agree that treating all citizens equally, and giving them the freedom to choose how and where they get their healthcare would be an improvement on the current system? I'd agree that not tax-favoring employer-paid premiums over individually-paid premiums would be an improvement over the current system. If you have problems with other distinctions that exist in the status quo, I'd prefer to discuss them specifically rather than generally.