Fox News Panelists Weigh Potential Union Organizing Impact of President Obama's Healthcare Proposals
Yesterday on Fox News' "Special Report with Bret Baier," the host discussed President Obama's healthcare reform agenda with panelists Fred Barnes, Kirsten Powers and Charles Krauthammer. During the discussion, Krauthammer suggested that if the President's plan included tax exemptions for benefits provided by union plans, EFCA could become an unnecessary after-thought:
BAIER: President Obama in his even today, Kirsten, said "Don't listen to all the people that say the sky is falling." And he said "Yes, we can. We are going to get this done, yes, we can," pulling the campaign slogan.
Is that a sign that this is in trouble?
POWERS: I do not get the sense that they think it is in trouble. And their plan is to try to actually move this as quickly as possible, not let it languish like it did in the Clinton plan, where people had time to really pick it apart.
And I think Fred hit on an important thing is that once you start getting things on paper, then people can start picking them apart.
Right now what we have are a bunch of trial balloons. We don't know what's going to come of any of these, including taxing benefits, which of course was John McCain's idea during the campaign.
And, you know, I think a lot of people think what we will end up with is something along the lines of taxing the benefits of people at a certain income level.
But in terms of other things that have been tossed around, like possible exemption for unions, that is extremely unlikely. It is probably more likely they would do something at an income level which would have the effect of exempting unions without actually exempting them.
BAIER: Charles, the union thing, if they get exempted, that is a huge deal.
KRAUTHAMMER: That is a huge — the biggest payoff perhaps in history to organized labor. It would establish a two-tier system in America, where if you are in a union, you get a pass on taxation of your benefits that your employers pay. If you're out of a union, you get taxed that. That is a huge difference.
Secondly, it kicks in on the first of January 2013, which means that for the next of four years, people will be scrambling to get into unions in order that you will have your employer benefits non-taxed.
POWERS: Charles will join a union.
KRAUTHAMMER: I will join a union if I have to.
BAIER: The Employee Free Choice Act lives, perhaps?
KRAUTHAMMER: You won't even need card check to force people in with a thug who comes to your home at night and says you want to sign here to become a union member?
Instead, you offer a goody of a two-tiered system, and I think it will be a tremendous asset to anybody organizing unions. So it's a payoff.
