TEA Party raises concerns for letter writer

To the Editor:

I am concerned with the recent development of TEA Party protests that have come to Jackson County. I believe in the ability to protest, but the propaganda that these protests are spewing have no factual base.

They claim the health care bill that has been working its way through Congress is going to increase our taxes and supporters of the bill, including our U.S. Rep. Baron Hill and Senator Evan Bayh, should be put out of office.

I do not like taxes anymore than the next person, but imagine a world in which we did not pay taxes and the services that they provide did not exist. No police, no hospitals, no firefighters, no roads, no sanitation services. However, the fact is that the health care bill is not going to increase our taxes or the deficit over the next decade.

The Congressional Budget Office, a nonpartisan agency that calculates the impact of legislation, found the current version of the health care bill will reduce the deficit by $129 billion over the next decade; $460 billion, over half of the projected cost of the bill, would be raised by a 5.4 percent additional income tax on individuals income above $500,000 or on couples income above $1 million. That is only 0.3 percent of all tax filers in the U.S. and not likely any of the protest members in Jackson County.

I believe the tax savings impact on individual citizens would be far more substantial. The only reports that I have been able to read are by the federal government on the impact to the federal government. Many of the hospitals in this country are owned and funded by local governments and states. If an individual goes into a hospital and has no insurance, the hospital must still treat the individual and someone else must pay for the services.

Part of this cost is pushed off onto the insured patients through higher fees and any remaining shortfall the local tax base must pay for through income, sales or property taxes. With the current health care bill, some of the costs that are being considered are already being paid by local governments so the true savings are actually greater than $129 billion.

The economics of providing people with health care coverage is really simple in how it saves money instead of costing more. People who have none do not seek treatment in early stages such as seeing a doctor for a sinus infection and getting a prescription for antibiotics. Total cost for early treatment $150. Instead they end up developing pneumonia, miss a few days of work and end up going to the emergency room. Total cost $1,000 to $1,400 plus lost income taxes from days missed at work. Not treating people with preventative health care is like not changing the oil in your car and waiting until the engine goes bad and having to replace it.

The higher fees that get passed on to the insured patients increases the cost of the insurance companies. They in turn increase the premiums that the insured must pay. In the past many people have been covered under employer insurance plans but as the cost increases more employers are eliminating such benefits. This leads to more people being uninsured as a portion of the premiums are no longer covered and individual plans are more expensive than group plans. This in return causes more uninsured costs and the vicious cycle will continue to spiral and cost will continue to rise rapidly.

In closing, even if the health care bill marginally increased the tax burden is it ethical to say people should go without basic human necessities to improve our bottom line? I elect my representative and senator based on whether I think he will do his job well.

They have more information than anybody they represent because that is their job and they have a staff dedicated to ensuring they have all the information to make an informed decision. It takes real integrity for them to make a decision that goes against a popular view that has been fueled by misinformation fed from those who would benefit from the failure to fix a problem. Baron Hill and Evan Bayh have done their jobs well in the past and I have no indication that they have not in this matter.

Hopefully, people will do their homework before becoming the pawns of the special interests such as the political party not in power and the insurance industry. Spreading misinformation and creating hysteria about a real problem and a real solution is a disservice to everyone except the special interests. Citizens should call and express support to Baron Hill and Evan Bayh for doing their jobs well and making the tough decisions that need to be made to provide a better country for everyone.

Matthew Alcorn
Seymour, Ind.