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Looks like the Adminstration is open to taxing healthcare benefits to pay for his healthcare plan. If passed, there goes the promise of no new taxes on the middle class.
The way the article reads too me is that Obama is willing to listen to ideas from Congress about the taxation of health benefits and some advocates of this plan within his administration, not that he agrees with it. If this proposal ever gets past the talking stage then we will know what his stance is. Right now, it is too early to tell anything as it is just a conversation and not even a conversation with him but with advisers that advocated this prior to his being elected President, I believe.
As far as I know, we don't know if he is criticizing it so it is kind of early to jump to conclusions about his thoughts. When he makes a comment on it and if he says he approves of this then his feet needs to be put to the fire. And if he approves, he better have a darn good explanation that is understandable to those who elected him about his about face regarding this because this would be a huge backpedal and it would destroy any of the middle class tax cuts that have been implemented.
P.S. OP, you may want to change your title thread to make it easier for others to know what the discussion is. Just a suggestion.
Those who saw or heard the hearings referred to in the article know that, from his opening statement on, Dr. Orzsag repeatedly explained that the administration was not about putting forward any particulars of a plan, that the Congress should instead engage (as in many cases, it already has) in identifying ideas that might work or could contribute to an overall health care package, and that the administration would then look forward to working with Congress in bringing together out of those ideas a package that could be moved forward by the end of the year. Orzsag's testimony was about the nature and description of various aspects of the problems that need to be overcome, but he repeatedly declined invitations to offer specifics on solutions, believing that it is too early in the process to go there. Some of the $634 billion downpayment is spoken for in terms of programs that already have broad support, but the rest is unassigned and the administartion clearly hopes that a broad base from Capitol Hill can be involved in deciding what programs those funds should ultimately be attached to...
Obama DID criticise it when McCain had this position....member of HIS administration are open to it....
THAT is the point.
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Obama open to taxing some health benefits
