Health Care Reform Damages Small Businesses

Senator Baucus Does Not Understand the Damage His Health Care Reform is Poised to Inflict on Small Businesses

September 24, 2010

A letter to KTVM News Anchor, Jonathan Athens:

Jonathan,

I saw your coverage on health care reform tonight (September 23, 2010) on the news, and, well, Senator Baucus just demonstrated that he has no understanding of the damage this law is slated to do to small businesses and the poor.

Yes, the law provides for tax credits for businesses that qualify. However, these are, at best, a joke.

For businesses that qualify, you can get UP TO 30% of the cost of providing health insurance for your employees.

Unfortunately, the current cost of health insurance is much further out of reach of small businesses than this compensates for.

This incentive is like the government saying you, "Jonathan, you have to buy a car. But you can't just buy any car, you have to buy a new car priced at at least $50,000. Now, if you buy this car, and you qualify, the government will give you a $10,000 tax credit. Because a $10,000 tax break makes a $50,000 car affordable to everyone."

Of course, if you weren't going to pay $10,000 in taxes this year, well, that's your loss, not the government's. Or if you don't qualify for the tax credit...

Senator Baucus just demonstrating that he does not know what is in the bill, and so so out of touch with the people and with small businesses that he has no idea what the problems with health insurance were, or why people didn't have health insurance...