Healthcare and Congressional Gobbledegook
An editorial yesterday in the Washington Times took a look at a few tax aspects in the House version (H.R. 3200) of the healthcare reform bill, and concluded, “Orwellian doublespeak hides nature of health care bill.” Specifically, the editorial invited readers to:
“Please check out page 203 of the main House version of health care reform. It contains all the evidence you need that the entire bill is a nasty bait-and-switch.”
As Fox News likes to say, “we report, you decide,” here’s the exact language that appears on lines 13-18 of page 203 of the House version (H.R. 3200) of the healthcare reform bill (requires Adobe):
“NOT TREATED AS TAX IMPOSED BY THIS CHAPTER FOR CERTAIN PURPOSES. — The tax imposed under this section shall not be treated as tax imposed by this chapter for purposes of determining the amount of any credit under this chapter or for purposes of section 55.”
The editorial explains it this way:
“Gee, that really clears things up. It is especially helpful to know that the bill itself does not even contain a Section 55; the bill begins with a section numbered 101. (Section 55 apparently refers to the Internal Revenue Code, which it wouldn't do if the health care bill were not a tax bill, too.)”
The Times editorial staff was having way too much fun with the tax aspects of this healthcare reform bill -- especially since a search of the bill found 100 instances of “tax” -- but concludes:
“Is it any wonder that ever-larger majorities of polled Americans are quite literally afraid -- not just worried, but actually frightened -- by the prospect of a central bureaucracy, mired in the red tape of inscrutable governmental lingo, deciding what treatments can and can't be provided, by which doctors, at what costs, and at what time in the far-distant future after the waiting lists have been exhausted?
“If it wants, Congress can try to impose a tax but not "treat" it as a tax. But the American people know when they are getting taxed -- and when they are getting mistreated. And the American people still can, and will, vote out of office the congressmen responsible for the mistreatment.”
HT Mark Levin Show. Amendments to H.R. 3200 can be accessed here.