Hey!!! There's a surprise in the Reconciliation Bill. (read this or go to link at bottom)
We will all be taxed $150-$250 PER MONTH beginning in 2011 for the NEW Community Living Assistance Services and Support Act (CLASS Act) that was added to the Reconciliation Bill on Friday night, Mar 19, 2010, before Congress voted on Sunday, Mar. 21, 2010. It will help pay for long-term home-care for the elderly. Isn't that nice?
In January of 2011, the government will start taking between $150-$250 out of our paychecks every month. And, not to worry, there is no discrimination here. ALL of us will be taxed on this one. Rich, poor, everyone except people who don't have a job, is included. If you have a job and get a pay check, the government will take this tax from you. Just to clarify, this is not a fee per household. It is a payroll tax deduction PER PERSON.
And there's more to this surprise! The program won't begin for five years, and they don't expect to pay out anything for at least 10 years. So we get a head start on paying for it. Isn't that great? The government will take our money and put it in their savings account for at least 10 years, and then they will start giving it to other people. What a great idea!
The CLASS Act, (isn't that a great name for it?) was apparently a pet project of the late Sen. Ted Kennedy, who was never able to get support for it because it was just to costly. What a wonderful tribute to Senator Kennedy! I know he would be so proud of Nancy for getting this done for him.
Beneficiaries will include anyone age 65 and older who have paid into the program for at least five years, but they have to wait until they are old enough to require home health care. I know it's a little confusing, but I'm sure Nancy and the boys in Washington really do know what they are doing. So, it's all good.
Gee, I need to start budgeting for this now. I don't have an extra $150-$250 per month, and neither does my husband. So we'll need to figure out how we can cut our expenses by $500 by next January... Either that, or we could each get another job... No, that won't work. There are no jobs. Hmmmmm... Hopefully we'll figure something out.
No wonder Mrs. Pelosi was in such a big hurry to get that silly little Reconciliation Bill passed. She wanted it to be a big SURPRISE! Isn't she a stinker?
I can't wait to find out what other surprises are in that bill. Thanks, Nancy!
PS: Just punched some numbers into the calculator... If I put $200/month in an interest bearing account of some kind, earning, let's say at 5% interest (I know that's a little high for these times, but it's a nice round number) for five years, I'd have about $14,000 at the end of that time period. Double that if Joe did it too. I could buy one heck of a health insurance policy with that kind of money. Oh well. The government is going to take care of me so I don't have to worry about it. What was I thinking?
Sources:
The Washington Times
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/apr/01/robbing-peter-to-pay-pauls-health-care/
