House Dems Seek Tax Hikes on Wealthy to Pay for Health Reform

From the New York Times, "House Democrats Plan to Tax the Wealthy to Pay for Health Care Reform":

To pay for a sweeping overhaul of the health care system, House Democrats will propose a surtax on individuals earning $280,000 and up and couples earning more than $350,000, the chairman of the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee said on Friday.

In all, the proposal is projected to generate roughly $550 billion over 10 years, which would cover about half of the estimated cost of the $1-trillion-plus health care legislation. The balance of the cost is expected to be covered by lower government spending on Medicare and other savings in the health care system.

But it remains unclear if the Senate would approve such an across-the-board income tax on the wealthy. Although some Democrats said they would gladly vote to tax the rich to pay for an improved health care system, most if not all Republicans and some centrist Democrats seem to be opposed.

Plus, see The Hill, "House to Target Wealthy to Pay for Healthcare,"and "Band of House Centrists Offers Support for ‘Robust’ Public Health Insurance Plan" (via Memeorandum).

Also, from ABC News, "While the President's Away, Health Care will Stray?"

The big liberal blogs are all over this story (see Firedoglake, TPMDC). The only conservative is Karl at Hot Air, "Obamacare Faces a Backlash from the Center-Left."

Interesting exit question: Why are Democrats proposing TAX INCREASES during a recession? (And don't forget the hypocrisy; Barack Obama hammered John McCain during the campaign for his plan's proposal to tax employee health benefits, "Taxing Employee Benefits to Pay for Obama Health Care Plan Still an Option.")

More at Memeorandum.