SMWIA General President Michael J. Sullivan was interviewed earlier today on the Bill Press Show where he discussed the proposed health benefits tax that would punish middle class Americans. The plan, originally concocted by the conservative Heritage Foundation and supported by conservative presidential candidates since Ronald Reagan has become a linchpin of Republican efforts to spoil new health care legislation through the tax's effect as a "poison pill" working Americans will find difficult to swallow.
At the beginning of the interview, Sullivan discussed the current state of health care and its effect on working Americans:
“Any bill that taxes health care benefits is dead on arrival. That is a promise and where I come from a promise made is a promise kept. . . We are already subsidizing employers who don’t provide health care benefits and are being punished because we’ve done the right thing, our employers have done the right thing and our members have sacrificed wage increases for their health care benefits. So why are we the ones who are being penalized?”
Sullivan was asked about the effect this new tax would have on the rising cost of health care, which he discussed at length when he responded that:
“The whole idea behind the health care plan is to lower the cost, not increase it. Every employer and employee will be forced to pay more for their health care. If they want to tax people, tax those above $250,000.”
In respect to Democrats such as Senator Baucus who has championed this new tax through his position as chair of the Senate Finance Committee, Sullivan noted:
“We are withholding all political contributions. We will not assist in any campaign until the tax issue is off the table. We will spend every penny that we can to educate the public about this through radio and television ads along with grassroots efforts and will do everything in our power to stop this tax. This is out of line and they are taking advantage of working people.”
The conversation went on to a discussion of what real health care reform would look like; one with a public option that would not be financed by a tax on middle class Americans. Sullivan informed listeners that “What matters is passing a piece of legislation that is for once to the benefit of American workers. On this issue we will be very active. This is wrong for not just the members of our union, but also for the American public.”
Listen to the audio of the interview