November 17, 2009
Republican Minority leader Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) and other GOP members have argued that the Democrats’ health care proposal, which was passed by the House of Representatives on November 7, would place a costly burden on taxpayers and cause the national debt to balloon to record levels.
Said Boehner in the GOP’s weekly radio address on October 30:
The debt to be paid by our kids and grandkids is exploding. And now, (House) Speaker (Nancy) Pelosi’s 1,990-page government takeover of health care.
Enough is enough. Breaking the bank and taking away the freedoms Americans cherish is not the answer to the challenges we face.
Too bad Boehner wasn’t such a deficit hawk seven years ago. According to a study by Citizens for Tax Justice, President Bush’s tax cuts – which were supported by nearly every Republican member of Congress, including Boehner – cost two and half times as much as the Democrat’s health care bill.
As a statement from Citizens for Tax Justice put it:
(The GOP’s) own voting record demonstrates that health care reform is not a matter of costs, but a matter of priorities
Unlike health care reform, which will take pressure off of consumers and businesses by reigning in spiraling medical costs and making sure every American is covered by an affordable insurance plan, Bush’s tax cuts have brought little benefit to our economy – except for a tiny sliver of the richest of the rich.
According to the study, by the time all of Bush’s tax cuts are phased in by 2010, more than 52 percent of its benefits will go to the richest 5 percent of taxpayers – all at a cost of $2.48 trillion.
Referring to GOP lawmakers, Citizens for Tax Justice says:
Their position seems to be that showering benefits on the wealthiest 5 percent of taxpayers and leaving the bill for future generations is preferable to making health care available at a much lower cost.
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