Wealth and Healthcare

Original publication: Syracuse.com

Date of publication: December 9, 2009

"The best solution [to funding healthcare] is for Congress to adopt the House proposal to slightly raise income taxes on couples with incomes above $1 million and individuals with incomes over $500,000 [...] Another progressive alternative is the Senate proposal to raise the Medicare payroll tax on income over $250,000 for married couples ($200,000 for individuals).

To make health care work and address the most vital needs of our nation, we need a fair tax plan. The funding fight over health care will set the stage for other battles in Congress, including over attempts by right-wing forces to cut back on the estate tax — the only tax mechanism in federal law to reverse the concentration of wealth in fewer and fewer hands.

Let’s hope increased taxes on the rich stay in the final health care bill and we get back to the principle in America that taxes should fall most heavily on those who can best afford to pay them."

Read the full article by Karen Scharff and Bob Cohen on Syracuse.com.