Single payer through the tax code

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Thursday December 18, 2014 · 1:37 PM PST

2014/12/18 · 13:37

So the governor of Vermont has "admitted" that Vermont cannot afford single payer.
I'm not a bean counter, I don't understand all the reasons how the people of Vermont can't afford to cut their health care bills in half. It's not that simple, there are all sorts of reasons, I get that. It's just that they're all bull. But just because they're all bull doesn't mean they're not real. It just means that we've made such a mess of things that we can't get out without a chainsaw.
So let's break out the chainsaw.
Out of pocket medical expenses are (under conditions) tax deductible. Instead make them a fully refundable credit.
There are reasons why Vermont, or any individual state, cannot do that - they don't have the tax revenue to afford the credits, but the federal government could do it.
And if you like political games, imagine forcing the Republican Party to choose between the insurance companies and the biggest tax cut in human history.

Every Book Has A Story

doh1304

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Tuesday September 13, 2011 · 6:26 AM PDT

2011/09/13 · 06:26

The book I want to talk about is Friends and Winners, by Raymond L. Nelson.

To be honest, it is not a great book. If not for my part in its story I would have read it, enjoyed it, and moved on without a thought. It's clever and thoughtful, but not preachy; its "messages" will settle somewhere in your brain, but not stand up and scream about themselves. Reading it will make you a better person, but not enough to demand or particularly deserve credit. The story of the book, however, makes this book special, at least for a few people.

doh1304

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Tuesday December 21, 2010 · 11:04 AM PST

2010/12/21 · 11:04

All these years we all thought that Ronald Reagan just wanted to steal Social Security taxes to pay for his tax cuts. Now we see what the real plot was - we were right, but we weren't thinking evilly enough.

doh1304

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Wednesday December 15, 2010 · 8:58 AM PST

2010/12/15 · 08:58

A few years ago, while Bush was still in office, the clinic I get my health care from said that they might have to cut back on services - because too many of their patients had insurance.The added costs of fighting insurance companies was killing them. Today that has not at least officially happened, but the clinic is visibly strained. I can not imagine them surviving much into 2014, once the mandate kicks in. With my blood presure it is a serious possibility that I will therefore die.

doh1304

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Thursday December 09, 2010 · 9:39 AM PST

2010/12/09 · 09:39

A couple of days ago I said that President Obama said that the people failed to convince the Republicans to back down on their tax cut demands. I was misinformed. He said no such thing, at least not at the Tuesday press conference. I relied on a third hand report. I was wrong.

doh1304

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Tuesday December 07, 2010 · 10:45 PM PST

2010/12/07 · 22:45

On December second I wrote an article saying that there are five tools to use in politics, and that generally you had to use two of them to succeed. Since then three politicans said four things to illustrate my thesis.

doh1304

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Thursday December 02, 2010 · 1:46 PM PST

2010/12/02 · 13:46

About fifteen years ago I was listening to NPR and heard a speech from a woman in Pittsburgh who had done something really special for elementary education. (I'm sorry to not remember her name.) She said something that really resonated with me; I was just coming out of what had been a good political run using what was essentially her principles, and she clarified my thoughts. Over the years her concepts have worked in to my mind as this:

doh1304

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Friday November 26, 2010 · 10:36 PM PST

2010/11/26 · 22:36

There's been a lot of talk about the President lately, and I think most of it is missing the point. I'm going to try to look at things from a different angle.

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Single payer through the tax code

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