Gary's profileConstitution Party News ...PhotosBlog Tools Help

Blog


    October 29

    Talking about JohnMcCain.com - McCain-Palin 2008

     

    Quote

    JohnMcCain.com - McCain-Palin 2008

    The Truth about the McCain-Palin Health Care Plan

    Barack Obama And Joe Biden Have Consistently Lied To Americans About John McCain's Plan. Their claims have failed every fact-check - from CBS to the Washington Post. John McCain is not going to raise taxes on middle class families. Barack Obama and Joe Biden are the only ones in this race that plan to raise taxes.

    OBAMA FICTION
    John McCain Will Tax Health Care Benefits For The First Time And Will Be the Largest Middle Class Tax Increase In History.

    THE FACTS
    This Obama charge is a blatant mischaracterization of the McCain Health Plan. It only focuses on the fact that the value of the employer provided insurance will now show up as additional income for the employees – what he fails to mention – is that John McCain’s generous refundable tax credit ($5,000 for families and $2,500 for individuals) will not only shield millions of families from a tax increase but will actually give them MORE dollars to invest in their health care needs.

    The McCain Plan DOES NOT tax:

    • Premiums paid by families and individuals

    • Employers for providing health care coverage

    • Medical expenses like the cost of a procedure or medication

    • Insurance claims

    Approach Supported By Obama’s Own Advisor: This is an approach supported by Barack Obama's own Senior Economic Advisor Jason Furman who wrote that "we could scrap the current deduction altogether and replace it with progressive tax credits that, together with other changes, would ensure that every American has affordable health insurance."

    Better Than "Members of Congress":  Under the McCain Plan, your employer can provide you with health insurance  as good as a "Member of Congress" (approximately $12,000), and you would pay no  more in taxes – regardless of your tax bracket.  In fact, you would have additional money left over from the McCain tax credit to put in a health savings account.

     
    Income Tax Liability
    McCain-Palin
    Tax Credit
    Total Tax Savings
    10% Bracket
    (Up to $15,000)
    $1,200 ($12,000 x 10%) $5,000 +$3,800
    15% Bracket ($15,650 - $63,700)
    $1,800 ($12,000 x 15%) $5,000 +$3,200
    25% Bracket ($63,700 - $128,500)
    $3,000 ($12,000 x 25%) $5,000 +$2,000
    28% Bracket ($128,500 - $195,850)
    $3,360 ($12,000 x 28%) $5,000 +$1,640
    33% Bracket ($195,850 - $349,700)
    $3,960 ($12,000 x 33%) $5,000 +$1,040
    35% Bracket ($349,700 and Over)
    $4,200 ($12,000 x 35%) $5,000 +$800

    Where Is The Middle-Class "Tax Increase"?   If you or your family is in the 28% bracket, with an income of $180,000, you could receive employer provided health insurance even better than a Member of Congress, with a cost of almost $18,000, with no increase in taxes. Even the liberal leaning Tax Policy Center, agrees that the McCain proposals will result in a "net tax benefit" of more than $1,200 for an average tax payer. A recent Lewin Group study estimated savings of more than $1,400 per American family – almost three times the savings as under the Obama plan.

    OBAMA FICTION
    The McCain Plan Will Reduce Medicare Spending By Billions By “Cutting Benefits, Eligibility or Both.”

    THE FACTS
    John McCain believes that we can achieve savings in Medicare without reducing benefits or eligibility. He has proposed common-sense reforms that will not only put Medicare on a path of financial stability but ensure access to quality care for millions of Americans. Some of the policies proposed by the McCain plan include:

    • Promote payment reform that allows us to move away from the current fragmented and volume-based service to a system which rewards coordinated and quality focused care.

    • Eliminate Medicare fraud and abuse to ensure that nearly $60 billion a year, almost 10 percent of total Medicare spending, that goes to line the pocket of criminals instead of providing quality care for seniors.

    • Ensure that drug premiums for the wealthiest Americans are not being subsidized by the middle class.

    • Promote a new generation of treatment models that better manage chronic care conditions while rewarding prevention and wellness.

    • Greater use of Health IT and medical homes to promote greater co-ordination of care.

    • Reduce drug costs by allowing greater use of generics (including bio-generics).

    The Obama Spin:  If some of the proposals above sound familiar to Senator Obama’s proposals including – better managing chronic care diseases, greater use of health IT, promoting prevention and greater use of generic drugs - because they are. Only the liberal media and the Obama campaign would characterize similar proposals as “savings” in the their plan and “cutting benefits, eligibility or both” in the McCain plan.

    OBAMA FICTION
    John McCain Will Tax Health Care Benefits For The First Time And Send The Money Straight To The Insurance Companies.

    THE FACTS
    Another desperate attack by the Obama campaign. Here is what they purposefully fail to mention – the credit goes to the insurance company that the American family chooses to get coverage from, anywhere in the nation. The power of choice lies with the family – not government bureaucrats or insurance companies. 

    • Putting Families In Charge: Under the McCain Plan American families will not only decide where the tax credit should be directed for their coverage needs but any additional money left over after purchasing coverage will be controlled by the family in a portable health savings account. Ridiculing this line of strange attack, The Associated Press stated, "Of course it would, because it's meant to pay for insurance. That's like saying money for a car loan will go straight to the car dealer."

    • Obama Criticizing His Own Approach: Most importantly, Senator Obama is criticizing an approach that is used by his own HOPE credits – where tax payer money simply goes from the federal government to colleges.  

    OBAMA FICTION
    Americans With Pre-Existing Condition Under The McCain Plan Will Not Find Coverage.

    THE FACTS
    John McCain believes that no American should be denied access to quality and affordable coverage simply because of a pre-existing condition. As President, John McCain will work with governors to develop a best practice model that states can follow – a Guaranteed Access Plan or GAP – that would reflect the best experience of the states to ensure these patients have access to health coverage. There would be reasonable limits on premiums, and assistance would be available for Americans below a certain income level.

    OBAMA FICTION
    The McCain Health Plan Will Damage Employer Provided Insurance For Millions of Americans.

    THE FACTS
    The McCain health plan builds on the employer-based system. Employers will have the same incentive to provide health insurance as they do today since they will continue to deduct the cost of health insurance they provide to employees.

    • Millions With Employer Coverage Will Do Better Under The McCain Plan: Millions of American families with employer sponsored coverage in all tax brackets with the same coverage as a "Members of Congress" will now come out ahead with additional funds going into a portable health savings account. Importantly, younger and healthier employees with the McCain health care tax credit will have a bigger incentive to stay with the employers. For example, a 25-year-old employee in the 25 percent tax bracket with a $2,500 tax credit could either purchase a policy in the individual market for the same amount or stay with his employer plan and receive a $5,000 policy with an additional $1,250 to invest in a portable health savings account.  Why would people choose fewer benefits for more money?
    So Why Is Barack Obama Hiding Details About His Plan?  

    1. Barack Obama's Plan Will Harm Employer Coverage
      The Obama plan includes a $179 billion a year employer mandate.  The mandate requires employers to either provide "meaningful" coverage or pay a tax towards the government plan.  Faced with tough economic conditions and rising health costs this creates a clear incentive for employers to drop coverage and move families into the new government plan. A Lewin Group study which examined a similar employer mandate combined with a national plan, like the Obama plan, concluded that almost 52 million individuals would lose their private employer coverage. To maintain their competitive edge, others employers will follow - spelling the demise of the employer coverage system.


    2. Barack Obama's Plan Continues The Push Toward Government-Run Healthcare
      The Obama plan will create a brand new government-run health plan at the cost of $243 billion a year – a financial burden of more than $3,000 a year on American families.


    3. Barack Obama's Plan Will Damage Private Coverage
      The government-run plan will have a clear advantage over private insurance since it will be subsidized by American taxpayers. A recent analysis of both plans by the nonpartisan CATO Institute concluded that the Obama government-run plan will be able to "keep its premiums artificially low…since it can turn to the U.S. Treasury to cover any shortfalls" resulting in "undercutting the private market." According to Wall Street Journal, the goal of the Obama plan "…like HillaryCare in the 1990s, is to displace current private coverage and switch people to the default government option." 

         







       
      On The Issues

      • The Economy
      • Energy
      • Health Care
      • National Security
      • Education
      • Iraq
      • Climate Change
      • Veterans
      • Immigration
      • Values
      • Second Amendment
      • Judicial Philosophy
      • Ethics Reform
      • Natural Heritage
      • Space Program
      • National Service
      • Agricultural Policies
      • Technology
      • Fighting Crime


       

      John McCain has a remarkable record of leadership and experience that embodies his unwavering lifetime commitment to service. Read More 



      Learn More About the McCain Health Care Reform Plan. Read More

       

      Winning the Fight Against Cancer Read More



      0
       
       
       
      Paid for by McCain-Palin 2008
      Search
      Military Images and Information Do Not Imply Endorsement by DoD or Service Branch
      October 12

      AIG takes vacation at Tax Payers’ expense

       

       

       

       

      WASHINGTON — Less than a week after the federal government had to bail out American International Group Inc., the company sent executives on a $440,000 retreat to a posh California resort, lawmakers investigating the company's meltdown said Tuesday.

      The tab included $23,380 worth of spa treatments for AIG employees at the coastal St. Regis resort south of Los Angeles even as the company tapped into an $85 billion loan from the government it needed to stave off bankruptcy.

      The retreat didn't include anyone from the financial products division that nearly drove AIG under, but lawmakers were still enraged over thousands of dollars spent on catered banquets, golf outings and visits to the resort's spa and salon for executives of AIG's main U.S. life insurance subsidiary.

      "Average Americans are suffering economically. They're losing their jobs, their homes and their health insurance,(But rich overpaid politicians and fatcat CEO's dont have this problem.)" House Oversight Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., scolded the company during a lengthy opening statement. "Yet less than one week after the taxpayers rescued AIG, company executives could be found wining and dining at one of the most exclusive resorts in the nation."

      The hearing disclosed that AIG executives hid the full range of its risky financial products from auditors as losses mounted, according to documents released Tuesday by a congressional panel examining the chain of events that forced the government to bail out the conglomerate.

      The panel sharply criticized AIG's former top executives, who cast blame on each other for the company's financial woes.

      "You have cost my constituents and the taxpayers of this country $85 billion and run into the ground one of the most respected insurance companies in the history of our country," said Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y. "You were just gambling billions, possibly trillions of dollars."

      AIG, crippled by huge losses linked to mortgage defaults, was forced last month to accept the $85 billion government loan that gives the U.S. the right to an 80 percent stake in the company.

      Waxman unveiled documents showing AIG executives hid the full extent of the firm's risky financial products from auditors, both outside and inside the firm, as losses mounted.

      For instance, federal regulators at the Office of Thrift Supervision warned in March that "corporate oversight of AIG Financial Products ... lack critical elements of independence." At the same time, Pricewaterhouse Cooper confidentially warned the company that the "root cause" of its mounting problems was denying internal overseers in charge of limiting AIG's exposure access to what was going on in its highly leveraged financial products branch.

      Waxman also released testimony from former AIG auditor Joseph St. Denis, who resigned after being blocked from giving his input on how the firm estimated its liabilities.

      Three former AIG executives were summoned to appear before the hearing. One of them, Maurice "Hank" Greenberg — who ran AIG for 38 years until 2005 — canceled his appearance citing illness but submitted prepared testimony. In it, he blamed the company's financial woes on his successors, former CEOs Martin Sullivan and Robert Willumstad.

      "When I left AIG, the company operated in 130 countries and employed approximately 92,000 people," Greenberg said. "Today, the company we built up over almost four decades has been virtually destroyed."

      Sullivan and Willumstad, in turn, cast much of the blame on accounting rules that forced AIG to take tens of billions of dollars in losses stemming from exposure to toxic mortgage-related securities.

      Lawmakers also upbraided Sullivan, who ran the firm from 2005 until June of this year, for urging AIG's board of directors to waive pay guidelines to win a $5 million bonus for 2007 — even as the company lost $5 billion in the 4th quarter of that year. Sullivan countered that he was mainly concerned with helping other senior executives.

      Sullivan also came under fire for reassuring shareholders about the health of the company last December, just days after its auditor, Pricewaterhouse Cooper, warned of him that AIG was displaying "material weakness" in its huge exposure to potential losses from insuring mortgage-related securities.

      AIG's problems did not come from its traditional insurance subsidiaries, which remain healthy, but instead from its financial services operations, primarily its insurance of mortgage-backed securities and other risky debt against default. Government officials feared a panic might occur if AIG couldn't make good on its promise to cover losses on the securities; investors feared the consequences would pose a threat to the U.S. financial system, which led to the government bailout.

      AIG suffered huge losses when its credit rating was cut, thanks largely to complex financial transactions known as "credit default swaps." AIG was a major seller of the swaps, which are a form of insurance, though they are not regulated that way.

      The swap contracts promise payment to investors in mortgage bonds in the event of a default. AIG has been forced to raise billions of dollars in collateral to back up those guarantees.

      Sullivan said many of the firm's problems stemmed from "mark to market" accounting rules mandating that its positions guaranteeing troubled mortgage securities be carried as tens of billions of dollars in losses on its balance sheet.

      This in turn, said former AIG chief executive Willumstad, who ran the company for just three months after Sullivan left, forced the firm to raise billions of dollars in capital. The federal rescue came after AIG suffered disastrous liquidity problems after its credit rating was lowered, forcing the company to come up with even more capital.

      "AIG was caught in a vicious cycle," Willumstad said in the testimony.

      Greenberg said that AIG "wrote as many credit default swaps ... in the nine months following my departure as it had written in the entire previous seven years combined. Moreover, "unlike what had been true during my tenure, the majority of the credit default swaps that AIGFP wrote in the nine months after I retired were reportedly exposed to subprime mortgages."

      But Sullivan said the complex swaps had underlying value, even as the market for them froze, sending their book value plummeting and forcing AIG to scramble for collateral.

      "When the credit markets seized up, like many other financial institutions, we were forced to mark our swap positions at fire-sale prices as if we owned the underlying bonds, even though we believed that our swap positions had value if held to maturity," Sullivan said.

      The hearing is the second in two days into financial excesses and regulatory mistakes that have spooked stock and credit markets and heightened fears about a global recession.