They’re beginning with the “Rich“, led by Mr. Tax Evasion himself Crooked Charlie Rangel:

“The House will propose raising taxes on people earning more than $350,000 a year to pay $540 billion for healthcare reform, Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.) said Friday.

House Democrats had been weighing a plethora of other tax increases, such as levies on sugary soft drinks and alcohol, that raised hackles within their caucus.

Instead, Rangel said Democrats will seek to enact one large tax increase targeting wealthier workers to generate the revenue they need to finance their $1 trillion-plus healthcare reform bill.

“We have decided that instead of putting pieces of different revenue raisers together, that the best that we can do [is] we would have graduated surtaxes starting at [$]350],000],” Rangel said. The tax hikes would begin in 2011 and raise $540 billion over 10 years, he said after a meeting with Democratic committee members.

The price tag of the bill is expected to be around $1 trillion. Democrats have already tentatively assembled a package of spending cuts worth around $500 billion, mostly from Medicare and Medicaid.

The combination of the tax increase and the spending cuts would provide House Democrats with most, if not all, of the money they need to meet their pledge that healthcare reform would not add to the budget deficit over the next decade.

By targeting high-income earners, the House enables President Obama to keep his campaign promise not to raise taxes on anyone making less than $250,000 a year.”

Except that it’s simply not so. Again, beginning in 2010, all wage earners making more than $42,000 a year will see a 25-30 percent tax hike thanks to congress in 2008 voting not to continue the Bush tax cuts. Secondly, I doubt it’s only “rich” people making more than $250,000 a year are the only ones drinking “sugary drinks” and alcohol. Indeed those who drink more alcohol and sugary drinks tend to be the working class families making well under $250,000.

It’s all smoke and mirrors folks.

The good news it that I doubt it goes through. Obama’s numbers are slipping faster that Olbermann’s ratings on MSNBC, and with the 2010 midterms coming up and 2012 after that, Democrats aren’t in a real hurry to further burden people with additional taxes.

But I hope they try. We’re looking at landslides if they do.

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