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What exactly is a tax?

Posted by NewBlogger2008 • 9/21/09 • Subscribe to this Discussion [RSS] • Report This Topic
Topics: health care tax

Ok, so Obama did a big media blitz on Sunday to try and promote his health care plan. It was fairly uneventful until he met with George Stephanopoulos (did I spell that right?) on ABC. Obama got a little hostile towards George when the president was asked about how the health care tax was going to work. Here is part of the transcript. I think this really reveals how Obama believes government should work.

online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204488304574425294029138738.html

User Comments

9/21/09

csiunatc

Talk about arrogance...

Mr. Obama: "George, the fact that you looked up Merriam's Dictionary, the definition of tax increase, indicates to me that you're stretching a little bit right now. . . ."

The fact that Obamas proposal meets the DICTIONARY definition of a tax means that there is no stretch whatsoever to calling it a tax.

Taxes are complex, but when they can't even be debated past the simplest form of definition, then there is no question.

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9/21/09

Agit8r

Why quibble. Of course it is a tax. It is a tax in the Democratic bill as much as it is a tax in the Judd Gregg bill. the fact that the tax in both instances is funneled through insurance corporations that will still only be loosely regulated doesn't change the fact, or the English language.

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9/21/09

clioandme

And here was me thinking this was going to be a right-wing thread about all taxes being theft and therefore wrong. Guess I was wrong.

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1. 9/22/09
  
  jeremyjanson
  
  NB08 is actually a pretty moderate guy as far as I can tell.
9/21/09

Agit8r

under English Common Law, taxes were often collected in leu of demands of service. For instance, a person could be called upon to help build roads, or taxed to pay others to build roads.

There are actually various sorts of taxation.

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1. 9/22/09
  
  Agit8r
  
  I thought that was sure to stir up the FEMA-campers out there...
9/22/09

anticsrocks

I use tax to put posters on the wall...

Or is that tacks?

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9/22/09

Agit8r

This thread is becoming taxing....

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