Gunpowder Chronicle posted on October 8, 2008 12:20 AM | Rating:
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McCain failed to change the game tonight. He whiffed it tonight. The debate was a big me-too campfire with everyone singing Kum-Bah-Ya. If he really wants to change the field, here are two policy prescriptions he should look at.
Taxes
Let's turn the tax system on its head, and do it simply and quickly. Instead of talking about small businesses and class warfare and how much of the electorate actually pays taxes (47% of Americans pay NO federal tax), let's do the following. One, we eliminate all the silly deductions (interest on mortgages, charitable deductions, etc.) and replace it with a single $25,000 deduction for every taxpayer. Simply put, you pay zero taxes on the first $25,000 of your income. None, nada, zip. But I want to sweeten it: we modify withholding so that you have zero income tax withholding until your income hits $25,000. In other words, if you make $24,999.99 per year, you pay no income tax at all to the government, and you don't have to wait to get it back.
Health Insurance
I would do three things with health insurance.
First, you should definitely be able to purchase health insurance "across state lines" and buy the best insurance for the best price.
Second, plans should be broken up so you only buy the coverage you need. If you are a 19 year old male, YOU DON'T NEED TO PAY FOR OB-GYN CARE. Or childbirth costs. One could argue that 19 year old female could opt out of childbirth costs too, if she wishes. Health insurance should be a true "a la carte" plan, where you purchase what you really need for your health care needs. If you wish to pay for doctor's visits out of pocket, but only want to insure for "major medical" expenses, you should. All inclusive plans make health insurance vastly more expensive.
Third, I would mandate that families can group together to purchase health insurance outside of the "dependent" relationship. My idea would work so that a successful child could add his parents to his insurance plan. Or parents of a recent college graduate could add a child to their plan. Or a brother could add his sister to his plan. But, the additions would not go beyond sibling/parent/child. A person could not add cousins, grandparents, step-parents, or aunts/uncles. This would add the flexibility of increasing the number insured people.