Friday, January 15, 2010

UAW to the Obama(croco)dile - Tax Me Last

The Detroit News reports that the UAW is now supporting Obama and the "Cadillac tax" funnily enough the Detroit news neglects to explain why: Union leaders won't fight tax on 'Cadillac' insurance plans

In a major breakthrough, union leaders bowed Thursday to White House demands for a new tax on high-cost health plans as part of landmark health care legislation taking final shape in intensive negotiations.

"We are on the doorstep" of success, President Barack Obama said.

The tentative agreement on the tax, which included significant concessions by the administration, was disclosed as leading lawmakers set an informal timetable of today for a compromise on the health care bill that Obama made a top priority in taking office a year ago.
Notice how these "significant concessions" ar e not identified and reported on by the Detroit News?

Instead, you have to go to Megan McArdle's Blog to find out what the concessions are: Special Deal for Labor Unions in Health Care Bill
And so it looks like they may have reached a deal sooner than otherwise expected: unions get a special two-year exclusion from the tax.
...Early reports understated the deal, which now has the excise tax kicking in for labor unions in 2018.

In other words you will be subject to the 40% tax if you're not in a Union immediately, meanwhile the Union members' benefits aren't taxed until 2018, and expect an extension then, if not before then, if the Democrats can get away with it.

There's certainly no amount of special deals and outright bribes using taxpayer's money that this administration won't do to get this abominable health care "reform" bill passed.

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