As I wandered the webs yesterday I came across a "Story In Pictures"
at Forbes magazine that seeks to tell the reader how the health care surcharge might affect people like you.
http://www.forbes.com/...
Be glad you're not This Guy, facing a potential tax hike: $452,000
More Ordinary People suffering from the extra tax bite below the fold.
Here is the Forbes profile of guy number one, above, who looks like he's preparing for an interview for a summer job at Mens Wearhouse
Taxpayer: Single, No Children
Annual household income: $5,000,000
Potential tax hike: $452,000
(Bold by diarist)
Just because he has worked hard and done well, he will pay in EXTRA taxes TEN TIMES what a schoolteacher makes in a year!!
==============================================================================
Heres another bunch of Kossacks frolicking at the beach, unaware or what ObamaCare has in store for them
Taxpayer: Married, Two Children Under 17
Annual household income: $5,000,000
Potential tax hike: $443,500
==============================================================================
Forbes knows of course that we are a diverse society, so it is important to show a black family having fun at the beach too. (hmm... I wonder how much thought they put into giving them an income of $800,000 when the white family above gets $5 Million/yr ? )
This typical family that will have to pay an extra $30,000 per year in tax:
Taxpayer: Married, Two Children Under 17
Annual household income: $800,000
Potential tax hike: $30,000
(Bold by diarist)
That seems truly unfair!! How can they go on? Might as well Go Galt and be done trying to earn an honest living.
==============================================================================
Taxpayer: Single, No Children
Annual household income: $300,000
Potential tax hike: $200
==============================================================================
Taxpayer: Single, No Children
Annual household income: $800,000
Potential tax hike: $30,700
==============================================================================
What strikes me about all these pictures is that they are barely out of College, and they are in settings that look everyday. Even at the office, the highest earners are sitting at $500 desks in $200 chairs. Where are the marble bathrooms and the wet bars? The vacationers look like they are on a day trip to the public park. No private swimming pools. Not even golf clothes.
Looks like they shop at Lands End or Penneys. These are clearly your neighbors down the block.
This is how the Wealthiest want us to picture them. Its why so many Americans think that someday they too will be rich.
=================
Forbes focuses on what these everymen might pay, but does not mention the subsidy they are currently receiving. They certainly all receive tax free health benefits, a subsidy that people without health benefits don't get. Assuming a marginal rate of 30% and health benefits worth $10k-20k per year, The current system subsidizes them between $3000 and $6000 each per year. This money comes from people who have no insurance.