Frugal Café Blog Zone

Posted By Vicki McClure Davidson on September 10, 2009

Conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh's analysis of taxes in the Democrats' health care bill

Crikey, I’m getting a headache reading and digesting this transcript on all the new mandates and taxes in the ObamaCare/Max Baucus bill. I wasn’t able to listen to the radio program on September 9 when Rush Limbaugh covered this carefully. This is only one portion that he covered. To read the rest of Limbaugh’s analysis, go to his website. It will be available for a few weeks to all readers, available indefinitely if you belong to Limbaugh’s 24/7 Club.

Sitting down, reading this, and forcing myself to absorb it is tedious, a royal pain. Like everything else the government knuckleheads author as of late. This government-run health care bill is about 1,500 pages long and is disorganized and contradictory in places.

Extremely important information… but overwhelming. You’ve been warned.

RUSH: You want to hear the table of contents in the Max Baucus bill? This is the one everybody’s all excited about now, Gang of Six in there, three Republicans, three Democrats. Remember, now, Baucus announced yesterday part of his plan is a fine of up to 3,800 bucks on citizens via the IRS if you don’t have health insurance. It’s going to be mandatory just like automobile insurance is.

“Section I: Health systems savings.” There are four chapters. “Ensuring appropriate payment. Capturing productivity gains. Reducing geographic variation in spending, and modifying beneficiary contributions.” “Section II: Options for Modifying the Exclusion for Employer-Provided Health Insurance.” (Repeats for emphasis.) “Options for Modifying the Exclusion for Employer-Provided Health Insurance.” “Section III: Other Health Care Relate Revenue Raisers, Modify Or Repeal The Itemized Deduction For Medical Expenses. Repeal Or Modify The Special Deduction And Special Unearned Premium Rule For Blue Cross And Blue Shield Or Other Quantifying Organizations. Modify Health Savings Accounts. Modify Or Repeal The Exclusion For Employer Provided Reimbursement Of Medical Expenses Under Flexible Spending Arrangements And Health Reimbursement Arrangements.” Wow, they’re really simplifying this, aren’t they?

Now, every time you hear me say “modify or repeal,” think “eliminate or cut.” Or another word, yeah. (laughing) It begins with an F. Another word we can’t use. “Limit The Qualified Medical Expense Definition. Modify The FICA Tax Exemption.” That’s Social Security. “Extend The Medicare Payroll Tax To All State And Local Government Employees. Modify The Requirements For Tax Exempt Hospitals.” Now, whenever you hear “modify or limit,” or “repeal,” or “limit;” think “cut,” or “get rid of,” or the F-bomb. “Section IV: Lifestyle Related Revenue Raisers. Impose A Uniform Alcohol Excise Tax. Enact A Sugar Sweetened Beverage Excise Tax. Section V: Administration’s Revenue Raising Proposals,” and I have them all here. I printed it out. I’m sorry it’s very long. It’s five pages.

“The President has outlined a number of possible revenue raising provisions as part of the Administration’s Fiscal Year 2010 budget proposals. In Committee discussions on health care reform, the focus has been on health care-related program savings and revenue raising proposals. However, the Chairman desires to provide, for the information of Members and potential discussion, a list of the President’s Budget proposals. Revenues Dedicated to the Health Reform Reserve Fund. 1. Limit the Tax Rate at which Itemized Deductions Reduce Tax Liability to 28 Percent. 2. Reduce the Tax Gap and Make Reforms. Expand Information Reporting. Require Information Reporting for Private Separate Accounts of Life Insurance Companies. Require Information Reporting on Payments to Corporations.

“Require a Certified Taxpayer Identification Number from Contractors and Allow Certain Withholding. Require Increased Information Reporting for Certain Government Payments for Property and Services. Increase Information Return Penalties Improve Compliance by Business.” Well, “Expand Information Reporting” means all of us in the private sector have to tell the government more and more about what we’re doing. “Require E-Filing by Certain Large Organizations. Implement Standards Clarifying when Employee Leasing Companies Can Be Held Liable for Their Clients’ Federal Employment Taxes. Strengthen Tax Administration Allow Assessment of Criminal Restitution as Tax. Revise Offer-in-Compromise Application Rules. Expand IRS Access to Information in the National Directory of New Hires for Tax Administration Purposes. Make Repeated Willful Failure to File a Tax Return a Felony.”

This is in the Max Baucus health care bill. That’s just page one. There are four more of these things. Yeah. Only the rich are going to be paying for this. A couple millionaires going to be paying for all this. You’re going to get it free. “3. Make Reforms to Close Tax Loopholes.” “Impose Penalty on Failure to Comply with Electronic Filing Requirements.” “Clarify That the Bad Check Penalty Applies to Electronic Checks and Other Payment Forms.” “Expand Required Electronic Filing by Tax Return Preparers Expand Penalties.” This is “Section V: Administration’s Revenue Raising Proposals.” “Improve Investigative Disclosure Statute.” “Extension of Statute of Limitations where State Tax Adjustment Affects Federal Tax Liability,” meaning (snorts), make it more difficult to deduct your state taxes on your federal return.

“Deny Deduction for Punitive Damages. Repeal Lower-of-Cost-or-Market Inventory Accounting Method. Modify Estate and Gift Tax Valuation Discounts and Make Other Reforms.” “4. Modify Alternative Fuel Mixture Credit.” That’s ethanol. This is in the health care bill. “Other Revenue Raising Proposals: 1. Other Revenue Changes and Loophole Closers: Reinstate Superfund Excise Taxes. Reinstate Superfund Environmental Income Tax. Tax Carried (Profit) Interests as Ordinary Income. Codify ‘Economic Substance’ Doctrine Repeal the Last-In, First-Out (LIFO) Method of Accounting for Inventories. Reform US International Tax System. … Defer Deduction of Expenses, Except R&E Expenses, Related to Deferred Income. Reform Foreign Tax Credit: Determine the Foreign Tax Credit on a Pooling Basis.

“Repeal 80/20 Company Rules. Prevent the Avoidance of Dividend Withholding Taxes. Modify Tax Rules for Dual Capacity Taxpayers … Require Withholding on Payments of FDAP Income Made Through Nonqualified Intermediaries. Require Withholding on Gross Proceeds Paid to Certain Nonqualified Intermediaries. Require Reporting of Certain Transfers of Money or Property to Foreign Financial Accounts. Require Disclosure of FBAR Accounts to be Filed with Tax Return. Require Third-Party Information Reporting Regarding the Transfer of Assets to Foreign Financial Accounts and the Establishment of Foreign Financial Accounts.” It goes on. “Eliminate Oil and Gas Company Preferences. Levy Tax on Certain Offshore Oil and Gas Production. Repeal Credit for Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) Projects. Repeal Credit for Production from Marginal Wells. Repeal Expensing of Intangible Drilling Costs. Repeal Deduction for Tertiary Injectants.

“Repeal Passive Loss Exception for Working Interests in Oil and Gas Properties. Repeal Percentage Depletion. Repeal Domestic Manufacturing Deduction for Oil and Gas Production. Increase the Amortization Period for Geological and Geophysical Costs to Seven Years. Eliminate the Advanced Earned Income Tax Credit. … Reinstate the 39.6-Percent Rate Reinstate the 36-Percent Rate for Taxpayers with Income over $250,000 (Married Filing a Joint Return) and $200,000 (Single). Reinstate the Limitation on Itemized Deductions for Taxpayers with Income over $250,000…” These are all “revenue raisers” in the Max Baucus bill, “Section V: Administration’s Revenue Raising Proposals.” Okay, we’ve got what Obama wants to do with all these taxes and eliminations of this and modifications and repeals. Let’s see if he talks about any of this tonight in his speech. Well, of course, he’ll do all this and we still won’t have enough money.

He’s going to break the bank. He’s gonna kill the private sector with this. He’s gonna kill competition. He’s gonna destroy incentive. He’s gonna raise the price of gasoline and oil-related products through the wazoo. Folks, this is the point. This is the Max Baucus bill but it’s the Obama bill and this is how this stuff is all going to happen. This is not about health care when you read through this. This is all about the elimination of as much private sector competition as there can be, punitive taxation, penalties galore. It has nothing to do with health care. And all this is supposed to save us money? No! It’s not even going to offset the deficit because it’s gonna limit tax revenues because it’s going to break people. And then we come to the accompanying story here from the Washington Post: “Recovery May Well Wait on the Wealthy to Step up Their Spending.” There’s another story here from McClatchy: “A Year After the Financial Crisis, Consumer Economy is Dead.”

I better take a break here. I’ll do these two stories when we come back but theory fascinating. Because you people, you people, you’re saving too much. Just yesterday or over the weekend, Obama was saying, “You’re not saving enough. We need to expand savings options, and one of the things we’re going to do and we’re going to send your income tax refund to you in a savings bond,” which allows them to keep your money! Forced savings. Even though you’re saving too much and not spending enough. Now we’re waiting for the rich to step up their spending. Because I guess the poor getting food stamps to buy food, toothpaste, and detergent simply isn’t reviving the economy. Tax cuts for the poor simply aren’t doing the trick..

Additional resources:
Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion: Dems Self-Destructing? Who Could Have Thunk It and Shocking Lack of Respect
Jon David, Big Government: Just Act: The Gravity of Health Care
Kyle Olson, Big Government: Lest We Forget: SEIU, ACORN Behind Ongoing Push For Socialized Medicine
Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN), Big Government: The Baucus Prescription: Higher Taxes and Higher Premiums (Updated)
Joseph C. Phillips, Big Hollywood: Feel Good Policy
Philip Klein, American Spectator: Don’t Believe The Hype and Dems Failed to Move Ball in August
Hot Air: Video: DeMint challenges Obama to line-by-line review of ObamaCare
Federalist Fred Thompson Blog: “Spread the Wealth” Hidden in Health-Care Reform
The Foundry: Push the Reset Button
Ztower: As the President said in his speech, it’s time to call them out!
Pundit & Pundette: What do 83% of Americans agree on?
Diary of a Mad Conservative: Doctors and nurses to fill the Trojan horse with Union dues
The Right Scoop: Video: Demint to Obama – Stop Generalizing and Defend Your Bill
Patterico’s Pontifications: Obama Implies Illegals Will Be Covered by His Health Care Plan
GayPatriot: Why President Should Ditch Obamacare, Focus on Economy
John Nolte, Big Hollywood: ‘Rock the Vote’ ObamaCare Push An Epic Fail?
The Patriot’s Mind: Left is Attacking Capitalism – Not Just Health Insurance
William Tucker, The American Spectator: Solving Healthcare Through Verbosity
Sister Toldjah: Yes, Obama DID preach healthcare reform at Wakefield High
FOX News: ABC, NBC Won’t Air Ad Critical of Obama’s Health Care Plan
Examiner.com: Anti-ObamaCare ad that ABC and NBC refused to Air
Behind Blue Lines: Does the Government Own Our Bodies?
RedState: The U.S. Constitution and Health Care Control
Federalist Fred Thompson Blog: “Spread the Wealth” Hidden in Health-Care Reform
Marginal Revolution: Our health care intuitions, or death panels for astronauts
HillBuzz: If you aren’t paying attention to what Sarah Palin is up to on Facebook, then you’re a damn fool
VotingFemale Speaks!: Barack Obama – Unelectable in 2012; His Waterloo was Sarah Palin speaking out against ObamaCare; TeamSarah On Deck! and Socialists Fall on Own Sword; ObamaCare V1.0 is Dead On Arrival
American Spectator: Conservative Leaders Speak Out on Obama’s Health Care Speech
Liberty’s Army: Forecasting Death in the UK: Fasttrack to Death with the NHS Pathway Policy
Jane Q. Republican: The British NHS: The Healthcare Might Kill You…But It’s Free!
Frugal Café Blog Zone: Pelosi & Reid: Quick, Pass ObamaCare While We Still Have the Votes and No One Has Completely Read It… Plus, More UK Health Care Nightmares and AARP Losing Memberships: Seniors and Military Vets Oppose Socialized ObamaCare, Glenn Beck Interviews AARP Rep (video)
Hit & Run, Reason Magazine: New at Reason: Steve Chapman on the Truth About Health Care and Infant Mortality
Lisaintx’s Blog: Born to be Free
Michael D. Tanner, Cato @ Liberty: Co-ops: A ‘Public Option’ By Another Name
Patterico’s Pontifications: Deceiver.com on Pelosi and Obama: Goal Is to Eliminate Private Health Insurance
Heritage Foundation: The Public Health Care Plan: What Seems to Be the Problem?

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Tags: Americans against ObamaCare, Congress, conservative, Democrat, disapproval health care, EIB, government-run health care, Max Baucus, nationalized health care, ObamaCare, political, politics, radio, Rush Limbaugh, single payer health care, socialized health care, socialized medicine, talk radio host, taxation, taxes, universal health care, White House