ksmith | (no subject)

One aspect of John McCain's platform that hasn't received much attention is his plan to tax employer-paid health benefits as income. Bob Herbert talks about it in his NYT column today. All taxpayers would receive a refundable tax credit to help them pay for coverage. I do recall reading a couple of years ago that one reason Toyota chose to build a plant in Canada rather than in the US was because they didn't have to worry about health care coverage for Canadian workers--it did save them a significant amount of money. But. Canadian workers have a fallback, a healthcare system that, while it may have its faults, covers everyone. McCain's plan would leave the current for-profit system in place. I can't help but think that a substantial number of folks are going to be cast adrift.