2014...a three way battle for the hearts and minds of the middle class

The 2014 midterm Congressional elections are shaping up to  be a three way battle between two wings of the GOP and a more unified Democratic party for the hearts and minds of the middle class. What they all agree is that the middle class income has stagnated while the upper 1% have benefited from the recovery and longer standing trends in the economy. What to do about it, if anything, is the new three way battleground.

 In this State of the Union address, the President laid out  an action plan. He proposed more job training, Pre K education support,  raising the minimum wage, providing more financial security through continuing Obamacare  by removing financial fear of bankruptcy due to unpayable medical bills, and new retirement  accounts for those  not with employer IRAs, among others . 

  The new approach advocated by   more GOP  moderates is to reposition the GOP as the party of “alternatives” because  just saying “no” is not a White House winning strategy.  Their Tea Party flank is still stuck in “repeal everything Obama has passed and oppose everything he proposes .”   The increasing income gap had just put a lie to the Republican’s trickle down theories that  a rising tide would lift  all boats if only government got out of the way.  To some in the GOP it appeared   voters were indeed looking for some hand up from the government to give them more opportunity and they were seeing   the lack of Congressional  action a nada tostada approach that was uncaring.  

Last week saw  the first Republican attempt to propose an “alternative” to Obamacare.   Republican amigo  Senators Tom Coburn (OK) ,  Orrin  Hatch (UT), and Richard Burr( NC),  proposed  a  replacement for Obamacare .  It is a plan ripe for a Democrat counter attack because it places a financial  burden on the working  middle class and older Americans  in order to get business, invincible individuals, and  medical provider  interests off the hook from doing  anything.  .   This alternative tostada will be  a hard one for middle class America to swallow.

Attempting to keep popular parts of the ACA and ditch anything resembling  a mandate on business and individuals enforced and paid for  with fines and  taxes on medical devices, the Three Amigo Senators came up with a  scheme to pay for subsidies to make insurance affordable to consumers and to cover those with pre-existing conditions. To pay for their proposal, the GOP senators   would raise taxes on all   Americans  getting  their health insurance from employers by making most health insurance benefits taxable income. They would  permit  greater increases for  the cost of premiums to older Americans than permitted by Obamacare  and  they would kick  out a sizeable number of middle class from Obamacare’s premium subsidies. The proposal  lets the young healthy and those of any age  go insurance naked,  free to shift  their un paid medical bills  to everyone else, relieves  hospitals and other providers  from taking  any action to keep  health care costs down, and eliminates requirements that employers with more than 50 employees provide health insurance.  It also reduces Medicaid, subsidizing more  poor to find  more expensive private market insurance.  Those with pre-existing conditions who have not yet managed to get coverage and keep it  are kicked into a subsidized  insurance pool paid  by the higher income taxes on the already insured.