Reich writes: "Don't be fooled by Trump's and Republican promises to 'repeal and replace' Obamacare. They could repeal it, but they can't and won't replace it."
Former Clinton labor secretary Robert Reich. (photo: Steve Russell/Toronto Star)
The Real Reason Republicans Want to Pull the Plug on Obamacare
13 February 17
on’t be fooled by Trump’s and Republican promises to “repeal and replace” Obamacare. They could repeal it, but they can’t and won’t replace it. They’ve tried for years to come up with a replacement that keeps at least as many people covered. Their “replacement” never appears.
So why do Republicans want to repeal Obamacare and leave millions without insurance? Because it would mean a huge tax windfall for the wealthy.
Repealing Obamacare will put an average of $33,000 of tax cuts in the hands of the richest 1 percent this year alone, and a whopping $197,000 of tax cuts into the hands of the top 0.1 percent.
The 400 highest-income taxpayers (with incomes averaging more than $300 million each) will each receive an average annual tax cut of about $7 million.
It would also increase the taxes of families earning between $10,000 and $75,000 – including just about all of Trump’s working class voters.
So what do we end up with when Republicans repeal Obamacare?
– 32 million people losing their health insurance,
– tens of thousands of Americans dying because they don’t get the medical care they need,
– Medicare in worse shape,
– And the rich becoming far richer.
This is lunacy. We must stand up to it.
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