Unions Collect A Health Care Payoff

Big Labor carved out a tax exemption for union members' health plans on Thursday, paving the way for passage of health care reform. Call it what it is: a bribe to cronies in an increasingly corrupt overhaul. With Nebraska winning "free" coverage of its Medicare costs in the Senate version of the bill, and Louisiana getting a tax exemption of its own, what's one more bone to a favored political group on a bill Democrats are determined to pass no matter what? That's what made it easy for labor leaders, following a sit-down with the White House, to carve out a special set-aside for union members' gold-plated health benefits acquired under collective bargaining agreements. Nobody gets more special treatment from Democrats than Big Labor. So if the bill passes, unions pay nothing on their health care for years until they can negotiate new contracts, while the rest of us plutocrats shell out a 40% tax on plans worth $8,500 for individuals and now $24,000 for families. No wonder the public is liking this odious legislation less and less?...read more