Is Asking Residents to Pay for a Medical School Moral?

Eugene Sepulveda [friend], good question. On a home of $200,000 we’re talking about $100 per year for thousands of new jobs, a medical complex and capabilities a city of our size should have had years ago, and better healthcare for everyone – those who can and who cannot afford to pay. What new taxes for Obamacare are you referring to? And, I’m afraid some of those arguing against $25, $50 or $100/year are the same ones working to kill Obamacare.

Friend: I appreciate the perspective, but don’t believe it’s moral for anyone to judge what other citizens can and cannot afford. It’s unimaginable to me that nobody is paying any attention to the new taxes imposed by the ACA, the most significant of which is the 3.8% surtax on investment income. Here’s a list of all the new ways our elected political heroes have decided to pick our pockets: http://jeffduncan.house.gov/full-list-obamacare-tax-hikes.

Eugene Sepulveda I appreciate the perspective, [friend]. And, we might have different notions of morality. I’d reserve that concept for how we treat the less fortunate, rather than if we ask rich people to pay a little bit more in taxes.

From my perspective, it’s immoral to live in a country of our privilege and for any citizen to go hungry, without primary medical care (including preventative), without access to a decent school for their kids, or without some sort of shelter. I’m not talking about cadillac services but at least a compassionate level.

And, we both know percentages are misleading, we’re talking about a 5 cents per $100 valuation. As to HCR taxes, new taxes for healthcare hardly touch the middle class. The increase for average households making over $200k is less than 1%. Come on, we’ve reduced taxes on ourselves by an large amount more than this just during the last 12 years – by a gargantuan amount since Reagan. Not to mention how we all but shelter income for hedge fund managers, real estate developers/investors and lots of others by calling their earnings “carried interests.” That’s why many of our friends only pay 13% or less on their earnings while teachers, policemen, firefighters and day care workers pay more.

To clarify, are you supporting Obamacare but this is just too much? I know we support different candidates – you a major donor to Gov. Rick Perry, me to Pres Obama, yet I know we both care about our communities and its citizens. I’m sorry you see this as insidious. I just don’t.