[IWE] true dumbth

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 22:07:44 -0700

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Ross Douthat (who's barely old enough to fucking vote) on The  
Atlantic's website:

> What happened to that extra $7,000 that employers were spending on  
> health care under the old dispensation? To hear Biden tell it, it'll  
> just vanish into thin air. But that's just absurd. Right now, that  
> $12,000 plan is part of your compensation; it's just that the  
> current tax code incentivizes employers to pay you in health  
> insurance rather than in cash, because the health insurance is tax  
> free. But that doesn't mean that if health insurance stops being tax  
> free and employers stop including it in your package of salary and  
> benefits, they'll suddenly cut everyone's compensation by $12,000;  
> they'll cut it by the cost of the tax deduction, presumably, and  
> wages will rise to roughly where they would have been if employers  
> had never been incentivized to pay their workers in health care. So  
> the typical family will get their $5,000 credit from the government,  
> and something like the remaining $7,000 they need to buy health  
> insurance will show up in their paycheck.

Is there anyone on this mailing list, apart from Bill Patient, who is  
credulous enough to believe that?

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<html><body style=3D"word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; =
-webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><a =
href=3D"http://rossdouthat.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/10/the_missing_70=
00.php">Ross Douthat</a>&nbsp;(who's barely old enough to fucking vote) =
on <i>The Atlantic</i>'s website:<div><br></div><div><blockquote =
type=3D"cite">What happened to that extra $7,000 that employers were =
spending on health care under the old dispensation? To hear Biden tell =
it, it'll just vanish into thin air. But that's just absurd. Right now, =
that $12,000 plan is part of your compensation; it's just that the =
current tax code incentivizes employers to pay you in health insurance =
rather than in cash, because the health insurance is tax free. But that =
doesn't mean that if health insurance stops being tax free and employers =
stop including it in your package of salary and benefits, they'll =
suddenly cut everyone's compensation by $12,000; they'll cut it by the =
cost of the <i>tax deduction</i>, presumably, and wages will rise to =
roughly where they would have been if employers had never been =
incentivized to pay their workers in health care. So the typical family =
will get their $5,000 credit from the government, and something like the =
remaining $7,000 they need to buy health insurance will show up in their =
paycheck.</blockquote></div><div><br></div><div>Is there anyone on this =
mailing list, apart from Bill Patient, who is credulous enough to =
believe that?</div></body></html>=

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