Health care law ends business ‘double-dipping,’ saves taxpayer dollars

I’m certainly glad that Mr. DeVol doesn’t bother himself with reading “liberal crap.” But then if he had, he probably would have had a better understanding of the myth of large companies losing $100 million dollars due to the new health care bill. He would have learned that this “loss” is pretty much a paper loss only, since what the new health care bill does in this area is change the law signed by President Bush under Medicare Part D, giving these large corporations a cash subsidy of $1,300 per retiree per year to help pay for prescription drug costs incurred by those retirees.

April 19, 2010 7:54 pm

I’m certainly glad that Mr. DeVol doesn’t bother himself with reading “liberal crap.” But then if he had, he probably would have had a better understanding of the myth of large companies losing $100 million dollars due to the new health care bill. He would have learned that this “loss” is pretty much a paper loss only, since what the new health care bill does in this area is change the law signed by President Bush under Medicare Part D, giving these large corporations a cash subsidy of $1,300 per retiree per year to help pay for prescription drug costs incurred by those retirees.

But wait. There’s more. These companies were then allowed to deduct this government subsidy from their taxes. Double dipping at it’s finest. The new law continues with the subsidy, but ends the double-dipping. Sounds like a win for the taxpayer. And if Mr. DeVol opposes the end of this double-dipping corporate socialist welfare, would he then approve allowing poor welfare recipients to deduct their government subsidy from their taxes, if they pay any, just like the millionaire and billionaire businessmen?

The conservative default position on this, of course, is that the unwashed masses are lazy, unproductive, unpatriotic, stupid leeches who should be thankful that more jobs aren’t sent to China. What bunk! This is going to come as a shock to conservatives, but this country is absolutely full of socialist institutions, like safe drinking water, clean air, safe medicines, parks, firemen and policemen, libraries, Medicare, VA, Tricare, safe plane rides, smooth roads, safe bridges, military protection, safe food, lead-free toys, churches, (remember that great socialist Bush and his Faith Based Initiative), dams, levees, schools, Social Security, Border Patrol, Coast Guard, FBI, CDC, CIA, public transportation, NASA, just to name a few.

Given that we are in many respects socialist in nature and practice and that the largest percentage of us already get our health care from some government sponsored entity, the idea that President Obama is a socialist taking us down the socialist path with a government takeover of health care is not supported by reality. Mr. DeVol points out that poll after poll indicates that Americans “hate this plan.” Of course, I would be one of those who do not like this plan, since it does not go far enough. Mr. Devol then asserts that Mr. Beckley could not possibly write of good things to come from this bill since it will take years for it to fully take affect.

Let’s review: Mr. Beckley cannot be right because not enough time has elapsed, but after only a month or so it is perfectly fine for “most Americans to hate this bill.” Hmmm, there’s a disconnect here someplace.

And finally, Mr. DeVol complains of Mr. Beckley’s youth. Einstein published his greatest works before he was 30. If a graybeard is more to Mr. DeVol’s liking, maybe this paper could hire a goat.

Michael Bowler

Buckley