Wall Street Journal: Why Obama's Health Plan is Better

[nickgutierrez]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122152292213639569.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Found this by way of the campaign's Google News shared feed - a sober, level-headed analysis of Obama's health plan vs. McSame's dangerous and foolish "tax health benefits" plan. Obama's wins, and it isn't even anywhere near close.

Given the current inefficiencies in our system, the impact of the Obama plan will be profound. Besides the $2,500 savings in medical costs for the typical family, according to our research annual business-sector costs will fall by about $140 billion. Our figures suggest that decreasing employer costs by this amount will result in the expansion of employer-provided health insurance to 10 million previously uninsured people.

We know these savings are attainable: other countries have them today. We spend 40% more than other countries such as Canada and Switzeraland on health care -- nearly $1 trillion -- but our health outcomes are no better.

The lower cost of benefits will allow employers to hire some 90,000 low-wage workers currently without jobs because they are currently priced out of the market. It also would pull one and a half million more workers out of low-wage low-benefit and into high-wage high-benefit jobs. Workers currently locked into jobs because they fear losing their health benefits would be able to move to entrepreneurial jobs, or simply work part time.

In contrast, Sen. McCain, who constantly repeats his no-new-taxes promise on the campaign trail, proposes a big tax hike as the solution to our health-care crisis. His plan would raise taxes on workers who receive health benefits, with the idea of encouraging their employers to drop coverage. A study conducted by University of Michigan economist Tom Buchmueller and colleagues published in the journal Health Affairs suggests that the McCain tax hike will lead employers to drop coverage for over 20 million Americans.

[gravity]

1. Even the WSJ editorial page is against McCain's plan

I don't even know why the hell he promotes it. The status quo is still much better than forcing people to get dropped from their employer's insurance

[nickgutierrez]

6. Really - what kind of plan is that?

It's a good thing McCain isn't using GHW's "Read my lips, no new taxes" line. There's no way anybody could read his lips - he's talking out of both sides of his mouth.

[Cha]

2. Rec'd! Get it up there with all

the palin shit.

[Doug_Orlando]

3. good post!

I'm posting on other boards - Its a easy read and from the WSJ. Great info.

[nickgutierrez]

4. To paraphrase Bill Clinton:

The Wall Street Journal is a great newspaper, as long as you steer clear of the editorials.

With this article, and Thomas Frank now on-board, that's less the case than it used to be, despite the presence of Mr. Murdoch.

[PA Democrat]

5. The last paragraph is one that people supporting McCain need to read

and read very carefully. Ask the average American if they can afford to pay taxes on their employer-provided health insurance.

[nickgutierrez]

7. 20 million more people looking for their own health insurance.

With a tax "credit" for people who can afford to pay for their own. Disgusting.