For those of us living in the deep blue state of California, the rapid move to the far left, European style, socialism, is making it nearly impossible to get ahead financially in the Golden State.
On Thursday Democratic lawmakers announced a plan to fund government-run health care for all Californians, setting up a fight over raising taxes over the next month.
The measure would rely on the Legislature passing new taxes on businesses and people making more than $49,900 per year to fund the program.
The Tax Foundation reports “this will increase taxes by $12,250 per household, roughly doubling the state’s already high tax collections, to fund a first-in-the-nation single-payer health-care system.”
Supporters of so-called single-payer health care say that despite higher taxes to pay for the program upfront, consolidating health care costs into one government program and moving away from private insurance would save money in the long run.
Gov. Gavin Newsom has said he supports a single-payer health care plan in the past, although he has not backed a plan to put the system in place since taking office.
The California Nurses Association has pushed for a single-payer bill for years and is sponsoring the bill moving this year, Assembly Bill 1400 by Assemblyman Ash Kalra, D-San Jose.
Fox Business reported:
California lawmakers unveiled a new bill at the beginning of the year that would establish a single-payer health care system – an ambitious plan that would be funded by nearly doubling the state’s already-high taxes.
A new analysis from the Tax Foundation, a non-partisan group that generally advocates for lower taxes, found that the proposed constitutional amendment would increase taxes by roughly $12,250 per household in order to fund the first-of-its-kind health care system. In all, the tax increases are designed to raise an additional $163 billion per year, which is more than California raised in total tax revenue any year before the pandemic.
Under the bill, the top marginal rate on wage income would soar to 18.05% – well above the median top marginal rate of 5.3% and the state’s existing rate of 12.3%. There would be an 18-bracket system, with higher taxes kicking in for individuals earning more than $149,509.The highest rate would apply to those who earn more than $2,484,121.
California would also expand the payroll tax paid by employees who earn more than $49,990 in annual income if they work for a company that has more than 50 workers. Walczak noted the plan could deter small businesses from expanding by inadvertently creating a tax cliff. For instance, if a company that had 49 workers earning $80,000 each hired one additional employee, they would suddenly create a tax bill of more than $90,000.
Finally, the state would also adopt a new 2.3% gross receipts tax (GRT) on qualified businesses minus the first $2 million in annual gross receipts, at a rate more than three times that of the country’s current highest GRT.
It appears to me that Governor Newsome expects the big tech super-wealthy, and businesses to pay even more in skyrocketing taxes to fund all the free public services for the lower middle and below services.
This formula never works as it results in a large dependent class who is willing to give up their freedoms in order to be guaranteed the minimum goodies from the government, including free health care and education.
Margaret Thatcher said it best – The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money
Written By: Eric Thompson, host of the Eric Thompson Show.
Follow Eric on his website ETTALKSHOW, and social media platforms, MAGABOOK, Twellit & Twitter.
This story syndicated with permission from Eric Thompson – Trending Politics
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