Henry Waxman Defends Benefits for Billionaires
The liberal website Talking Points Memo noted this week that in his speech Monday regarding the debt limit, Speaker Boehner supported the idea of means-testing Medicare for wealthy individuals – questioning whether federal taxpayers should be subsidizing the health care benefits of those like Pete Peterson, the billionaire founder of Blackstone Group and head of a fiscal responsibility foundation. That prompted this retort from California’s Henry Waxman: “Medicare is a social insurance program where you get back for paying in, whether you are middle class, poor, or rich. If Mr. Boehner wants to have the wealthy contribute more to deficit reduction, he should look to the tax code.”
To summarize: Rep. Waxman would have the federal government raise taxes on the wealthy to pay for taxpayer-subsidized benefits (i.e., Medicare and Social Security) for these same individuals. The difference between the two philosophies is clear: Withdrawing taxpayer-funded benefits (particularly Medicare benefits, which are non-financial in nature) from wealthy individuals will NOT have an economic impact – but raising taxes on job creators WILL. If Democrats are interested in “soaking the rich” at a time of high unemployment, why are Democrats focused on the side of the equation that will harm jobs – rather than questioning why Warren Buffett and Pete Peterson need taxpayer-financed benefits in the first place?
Adding to this absurdity is that the federal government is already forcing individuals to purchase government-run health care, by prohibiting them from opting out of Medicare. So at a time of trillion-dollar deficits, federal taxpayer dollars are being used to defend in court a policy that FORCES individuals like Warren Buffett to purchase government-run health care (and, at least in some cases, give up their private coverage in the process).
Thankfully at least Democrats who have expressed some support for placing income-related tests on taxpayer funded benefits. But if Democrats seek credibility on entitlement and deficit reform, they might want to arrive at a better reason to raise taxes on job creators than to finance Warren Buffett’s health care or Bill Gates’ pension.