TaxBytes

There’s maybe 15 new taxes in Senator Harry Reid’s health care plan, including new taxes on: “Cadillac plans” (that is expensive, not necessarily rich-benefit plans); Medical devices and cosmetic surgery (oops, there went the Hollywood vote); Drug companies, health insurers and insurance executives; New limits on contributions to flexible spending accounts and increased penalties on non-qualified health savings account expenses; Individuals who don’t buy and employers who don’t provide health insurance; And, of course, high-income earners, and much more.

It’s time to expose the lie that the Blue Dog Democrats—a coalition of 52 supposedly fiscally conservative House Democrats—are concerned about federal spending and the budget.

Most politicians would wince at being accused of trying to push the biggest tax increase in U.

Has Washington completely abandoned any effort to stay within the parameters established by the U.

With all the political tricks flying around Washington this week you’d think it was Halloween, but we still have more than a week to go.

Eight months ago, when the Democrats and the administration rammed through the $787 billion stimulus package, the public was lectured that the massive spending bill was needed to “save or create” jobs and stop the rise in unemployment.

Here’s another casualty of the economic downturn: Social Security.

Advocates of the national health care overhaul scrambling to raise the taxes to pay for it have floated the idea of imposing federal excise taxes on soda, fruit juice, and similar drinks.

Like all of the Democrats trying to push through health care reform with no way of paying for it, Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) has been on a quest to find new revenue for his plan.

President George W.