It Passed

The Baucus bill passed the Senate committee yesterday. Now Harry Reid will combine elements of it with another bill that got out of committee and that bill will go to a vote on the floor.

Meanwhile the House bill will be assembled in a similar fashion and sent to the floor to be voted on. Once there is is a Senate and House bill passed they will go to a conference committee and hash out the differences and produce a bill to take to the President to sign.

The House bill will have to have a public option, the Senate bill will have to have penalties for people who refuse to get insurance and tax plans that cost over eight thousand per year (a number that is sure to fall to pay for this behemoth of a bill, along with a possible VAT, and windfall profit tax on all insurance companies).

I'm all in favor of a VAT (Value Added Tax) or a national sales tax in lieu of income tax. Naturally you'd exempt food and clothing so it isn't regressive but that isn't Speaker Pelosi's plan. She wants the VAT AND the income tax to be adjusted up a bit to pay for the ultimate bill that Obama wants.

The weird thing is that the taxes won't start for two years (after the midterm elections) and the health care plan won't start until at least 2013 (after the next Presidential election) very shrewd moves on the liberal sides. As a sitting President he has a good chance of being reelected, I believe he will be more Carter like and go down as one of the worst Presidents ever though. Regardless he would stand a great chance of NOT being reelected if his plan kicked in while he was in office in his first term.

Since Congress is up for election every two and six years they have timed the tax increases to start just after their elections, again very shrewd political move. They are banking on short memories of the public.

Even though I don't like what is happening I am marveling at the adeptness in which they are exhibiting in doing it.