The Biden lie referred to in this entry was even too much for the mainstream media. An AOL featured story (AP I believe) pointed out the lie, although AOL's headline called it "misleading".
Biden said that McCain's health care proposal contains the "biggest tax increase ni American history". As yesterday's AOL featured story pointed out, that is an absolutely false characterization of McCain's proposal, and obviously so.
Two "liberal leaning" (not my characterization, but in yesterday's story) "think tanks" have compared the cost (to the Federal Government) of Obama's health care proposal and McCain's health care poposal, over a number of years (ten, I think). The Brookings Institute estimated that Obama's proposal will const the taxpayers 1.6 trillion dollars, while McCain's will cost the taxpayers 1.3 trillion dollars. Now the first thing to note is that the 1.6 trillion is total fiction, as you can tell from the constant increase in the cost of Medicare and Medicaid over what was projected. Maybe the 1.3 trillion is inaccurate as well, but it clearly shows that McCain is proposing a tax cut. That is because the cost of McCain's proposal is entirely in tax credits, rather than direct government expenditures, and those tax credits will reduce the Federal Government tax receipts by 1.3 trilllion (that estimate). That is a tax cut proposal.
What is the excuse for Biden's outrageous statement? Well, there is no excuse. But the basis of the statement can be explained. Presently, employer health insurance benefits to employees are not taxed. That is the same as counting those benefits as income, and giving a tax deduction. McCain's proposal is to convert this tax deduction (achieved by not counting benefits as income) into a more costly (to the government) tax credit. This is achieved by counting the benefits as income, but then giving every family a $5000.00 tax credit. I think McCain would apply that tax credit to more than just employer payments, with the idea being that individuals can go out and buy their own insurance, if they desire and their employer does not, with the tax credit. Right now, buying your own health insurance only gives you a less useful tax deduction.
Okay, you should see where Bidencame up with his despicable lie by now. Biden was counting the new requirement (under McCain's plan) of treating health insurance premium benefits by employers as income as a tax increase, without offsetting the corresponding tax credit--meant by McCain to be more advantageous to taxpayers than the former tax treatment--in other words a net tax cut. In fact, the McCain proposal may result in cash back to most people (I am not sure how that would work, since I oppose the McCain plan anyway as an endorsement of making health care a Federal problem, and am not much interested in the full dtails). Tax credits are almost always more beneficial to taxpayers than deductions.
Concrete example (similar to that in AOL story). Let us assume that a person has $5,000 in taxable income, and receives a $5,000 health insurance premium payment for health insurance from his employer. Right now that means the person would have $5,000 in taxable income, and pay $750.00 in tax (15% brackett). Under McCain's plan, the same person would have $10,000 in taxable income (basis of Biden's assertion of tax increase), which would result in a supposed tax of $1000.00 (a supposed 100% increase). However, the person would not pay the $1000.00. That is because the person (let us assume a family here, for sake of simplicity) would receive a tax credit of $5000.00. Thus, instead of the taxpayer owing the government $750.00, as under present law, the government would owe the taxpayer $4000.00. That is a heck of a tax cut, instead of the tax increase asserted (absolutelly falsely) by Biden.
Note another point. The tax credit is more valuable to lower rate taxpayers than to higher rate taxpayers. The tax credit comes straight off the tax. Thus, if a family in a 15% bracket owes $5000.00 in taxes, their entire tax liability will be wiped out. But say that $5000 tax liability was created by including $10,0000 in income from health insurance premiums. That added to the tax of the lower income (15% bracket) person $1500.00. But the tax credit was $5000. That is a net tax gain of $3500.00. Say you have, in contrast,, a person in a 35% bracket. They will still have $5000 in a tax credit, but their tax on $10,000 in health insurance premiums will be $3500.00, for a net tax gain of only 1500.00. So, in comparison to the lower middle class, the "rich" "suffer" (still a net tax gain, but not by nearly as much).
Back to liar Biden. There are only two choices here. Either Biden does not understand McCain's proposal (even though analysis is out there), or Biden is a bald faced liar. Either way, Joe Biden is not qualified to be Vice President of the United States.
This is different than Obama's ad (still running) which lies about McCain campaign people being lobbyists (some used to be lobbyists, but were required to sever their lobbying ties to be part of the McCain campaign). That is a political lie of the type sort of common in campaign ads. But to lie about a substantive program like a health care plan is a substantive lie, and distorts the whole debate on health care. Thre is no excuse for it, and it disqualifies Biden to be Vice President of the United States.
Advice to McCain and Palin (even though I am no longer part of their "team" to the extent of even voting for them, and--of course--never was any part of their campaign): Memorize the gaffes by Biden, and CALL him on them, if given the opportunity. On gaffes like the FDR one, or the health care plan lie, I would try to make the opportunity. The mainstream media is repeating over and over the items with which they have been trying to destroy Sarah Palin, with much less basis than the items that should destroy Joe Biden. Those items need to be repeated over and over. I would put an ad out on the FDR gaffe, and maybe even the health care gaffe (with the assertion that Biden obviously doe not understand either taxes or health care).
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