While the Republicans have decided on pounding away that the health care mandate is a tax, and therefore inherently evil (if not at least socialist), I’m actually happy to finally be hearing people on the cable news shows talking about the countless other items that are fully accepted parts of the US tax code and are also penalties, incentives, or on your tax forms “tax credits” that are intended to influence individual behavior.
It is vitally important for people to understand that NOT getting a tax credit because you do not own something, or DO something is the exactly the same thing as being taxed for not owning or doing something. Both are monetary incentives of equal net value, written into the national tax code, and intended to influence behavior of American citizens.
Renters, for example: You are paying a tax penalty for not owning your own home. For those who live in cities where buying a one bedroom apartment costs well above $700,000… too bad, the US government taxes you for that because you do not qualify for the mortage deduction. The purpose of mortgage tax deductions is to encourage home ownership and community building. Money in exchange for behavior the government wants from its people.
And how about all you single people out there? Sorry… your government thinks you should be married, so you get a tax penalty as well. Regardless of the so called marriage penalty, if you follow the tax code, married people get a tax break.
Why does you government pay you to get married…?
…have any kids? No? Well, then, no tax deduction for you, either. (THIS one actually scares me.) The government thinks you should have kids and encourages you to do so by its tax code. I personally find that very strange: if a person does not reproduce, he or she pays a penalty by means of extra taxes. That’s just odd. Maybe biologically you are unable to have children… too bad, no tax breaks, and therefore, you are paying more taxes as well. If you have kids, you get a tax break.… and for each child, no less.
People of America: you are being paid to reproduce. (Freaky considering the fact that we clearly have an overpopulation problem: food costs, gas costs, no enough jobs, etc. etc. etc. That’s NOT all immigration, that’s because people are having 4 and 5 kids per couple).
Those three most common examples are fully accepted and embraced by all political parties and people (or at least so much of a majority that anyone who disagrees never gets time at the microphone).
So what’s different with NOT getting a tax credit for not owning health insurance? How is that in any way different than not getting a tax credit for not owning your own home? Both contribute to commerce.
It’s exactly the same principle: Not getting a tax credit because of ____ is exactly the same as being taxed because of the opposite ____. Anyone who tries to argue otherwise is just wrong.
The United States has thousands of such things that give incentives so that people will do something. Some things are for building a greener house, others are a bit more blue law in their nature. I’m not saying any of these things are bad. Heck, the cost of raising a child is said to be around $250,000… a $1000 child credit seems like at least something to help parents out with that burden. People in large societies, coupled with the type of money-driven society we’ve created for ourselves, means that money is basically the only universal motivation…. honestly, it’s the only one that reaches across social, moral, religions, all lines: money is the only pure human motivation, so…. tax breaks or tax penalties are the only way to get a large group of diverse people to do something. If you think it’s right or wrong doesn’t really matter.
But for those crowing about Obamacare being a tax: how about to throw a single, non-home-owning American a bone as well by addressing those taxes, rather than just bashing on the Affordable Care Act for purely political reasons?
Other tax credits / deductions that encourage or discourage individual behavior:
Retirement Plan contributions. This one makes sense: plan ahead by contributing to a personal retirement plan, and you get tax benefits. The reasoning: the more you are prepared for retirement personally, then the less you will need from the government…. wait…. that sounds like… the health insurance mandate….
Health savings account. I’m not even going to bother to say more about that one.
Renewable Energy Tax Credits: this covers a plethora of things from building green to what kind of washer and dryer you buy. Re-read the latter: the government uses tax code to influence your purchasing decision for your home appliances (I can hear Michele Bachmann crying light bulb foul now). But again: Republicans don’t seem to have any problem with this one.
How about Job Creation tax credits? No one can deny that hiring people is a good thing, and no Republican would ever vote against revoking credits or subsidies, but, well, Obama didn’t make most of those, and I’m certain they’ll find a reason why his suggestion of giving credits to companies who don’t ship jobs overseas is somehow bad if they can’t find a way to annex it.
It’s perfectly acceptable and well-practiced to use taxes as a way to encourage good behavior that benefits the society as a whole. It’s done now, and it’s always been done. The health care mandate penalty is no different. It doesn’t kill Freedom. If it did, then all those oil company subsidies and mortgage write offs would have “killed freedom” long, long ago.
