Senate Serves Up Beer Tax For Health Care

Committee Considers Several Ways To Fund Expansion Of Health Coverage For Americans

(AP)  Joe Six-Pack may have to hand over nearly $2 more for a case of beer to help provide health insurance for all.

Details of the proposed beer tax are described in a Senate Finance Committee document distributed to lawmakers before a closed-door meeting Wednesday. Senators are focusing on how to pay for expanding health insurance for an estimated 50 million uninsured Americans, a cost that could range to some $1.5 trillion over 10 years.

You can't raise that from beer money alone.

Lawmakers are looking at an extensive list of spending cuts and tax increases, including a new levy on the value of job-based health insurance. The latter proposal seems to be gaining ground. It could lead to higher income taxes for some people with particularly generous job-based health care.

Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., said no decisions were made, but he will use the feedback to shape legislation he intends to introduce in the next few weeks. The committee has a critical role to play in the health care overhaul, since it writes tax law and oversees the government's giant medical insurance programs. Baucus wants to write a bipartisan bill, a goal for President Barack Obama.

"Nothing's pushed off the table," Baucus told reporters after the daylong meeting. He said senators have come closer on some issues, but much remains to be resolved.

While many of the revenue raisers involve obscure provisions of federal law, most consumers can relate to a beer tax.

Taxes on wine and hard liquor would also go up.

And there might be a new tax on soda and other sugary drinks blamed for contributing to obesity. A tax of 3 cents per 12-ounce drink would raise about $50 billion over 10 years, according to congressional estimates. Diet drinks, however, wouldn't be taxed.

The idea behind the proposed increases is to tax lifestyle choices that contribute to rising medical costs. Obesity puts people at risk for diabetes and heart problems. Alcohol abuse is a risk factor in several types of cancer, liver disease and psychological problems.

The soft drink industry and beer and wine producers are already lobbying to stop the proposals before they gain traction. The tax increases would lead to job losses for workers and higher costs for recession weary consumers, say the industries. Wine makers are also pointing to studies that suggest a glass a day can be good for health.

"Singling out wine for higher taxes to reform health care is misguided because wine is part of a healthy diet and lifestyle for millions of Americans," said Robert P. Koch, president of the Wine Institute, which represents California's industry.

Under the proposal lawmakers are considering, beer taxes would be increased by 48 cents a six-pack, from the current 33 cents. Beer is still the favorite choice of Americans who drink alcohol.

Wine taxes would rise by 49 cents per bottle, from the current 21 cents.

And the tax on hard liquor would increase by 40 cents per fifth, from the current $2.14.

Percentage-wise, wine drinkers would take the biggest hit, a 233 percent tax increase per bottle. The Wine Institute said the tax increase would be even bigger for wines with a higher alcohol content.

Hard liquor would see the smallest proportional increase, 19 percent per fifth.

The beer tax would rise by 145 percent per six-pack.

Proponents of the idea say it would equalize the tax treatment of alcoholic drinks, by charging the same tax rate based on alcohol content to all. But that would put an end to the current tax advantage enjoyed by beer and wine.

The higher alcohol taxes would bring in nearly $60 billion over 10 years.

[oldstuff4sure]

Why don't they put a tax on Type A personalities

[endrepubs]

Why do we continue to ignore the fact that a Universal single payer system is the ONLY thing that is going to work. It is time to join the rest of the developed world and implement a Universal Health Care System that covers EVERY citizen. America continues to be the ONLY industrialized nation on the planet that does NOT have Universal Care for its citizens. The tax and costs to cover this plan would be WAY less than your current premium to private companies. And you would never have to worry about losing your health care do to job loss. You would NEVER have to worry about an insurer turning your claim down for pre-existing conditions or other reason. The rest of the world just can't beleive we continue to purchase policies through private insurance companies. Taxes on beer is not going to change anything except make beer more expensive.

[evilbusheviks]

Yep, I certainly agree that America needs SP-UHC now, but the for-profit insurance industry as well as the for-profit pharmaceutical industry, will not simply roll over with their hordes of lobbyists and billions in profits to be lost since they worship the almighty American dollar through their GREEDY ways!

Medicare as a SP-UHC system has a 3% overhead.....
The for-profit insurance companies have a 30% overhead.....

As long as the for-profit insurance industry has their hooks into our health care, costs will continue to spiral completely out of control.

[evilbusheviks]

"attacked in Sept right after bush got in...."
Posted by sbbm-2009
****************

More revisionist history by highly-partisan republiCONS.....

The bush monkey was squattin' in the W.H. for almost 9 months when 9/11 happened, after he was warned the previous month about impending attacks.

Seems as if the Clinton administration caught the first terrorists to attack the WTC in early 1993, but the bush/cheney cabal has let Osama bin Ladin free to roam the world for the past 8 years.

Remember those bush monkey words...."catch him dead or alive"? HA!

[evilbusheviks]

"attacked in Sept right after bush got in, so therefore, 9/11 is really Clinton's fault - LOL...thanks for the insight."
Posted by sbbm-2009
****************

You must confuse January and September ...
Otherwise, even in September, I'll remember that Obama just got in ...
by abbe91
********

Yep....these highly-partisan, sore-losermen republiCONS certainly try to revise history every chance they get, and unlike the first terrorist attacks on the WTC which happened a mere 5 weeks into Clinton's tenure, 9/11 happened many months after the bush monkey first started squattin' in the White House, and after he had been warned of an impending terrorist attack!

What did the bush monkey do after he was warned in a daily briefing?

Stayed on vacation and then went to further his education in Florida, listening to goat stories by first graders while sitting there like a deer caught in the headlights too stunned to speak or move, while America was under attack! What a damn AWOL coward!

[evilbusheviks]

Apparently somebody cutout part of your movie, since we're in the bush/cheney depression with high unemployment, where many can't even find that FIRST job, and most don't have health care benefits.
Posted by evilbusheviks
********************

...soooo, BO's at the helm...it's his watch, things have gotten markedly worse, he put the American people in debt they'll never recover from.....

by sbbm-2009
***********

Thanks for the CONStipated CONServitard highly-partisan viewpoint, but Obama has only been president for 4 months of an 18 month bush/cheney depression.....the DJIA is UP over 4% since Jan. 20th, and the mass layoffs fell sharply in April, with data indicating the pace of labor market deterioration may be slowing.

You're just like the EVIL darth cheney and rush limp-rod in wanting America to fail, so it's no wonder America is seeing such a decline in the GOP in every demographic category, since the republiCON negativity and highly-partisan attacks from you sore-losermen are just helping your party into extinction even faster!

BTW, the original post you quoted, was a reply to the bozo that said McDonalds jobs came with health care benefits, which is another LIE, but then again, that's all you *** NoNooz junkies have!

[Hermit1948]

America--have you lost your mind? Enough with all of the taxes! And we'll remember you dung the next election.

[ddaryl1]

sorry folks.. .but the fact is we workers have no job security we can depend on, we have no benefits we can depend on or do not get ripped away from us because Wallstreet must see profits 1st..

the fact is the majority of Americans are struggling, and the more citizens/workers/voters that fall into thsi trap the more that are going to vote for a "European" styles society.

I am, I have 2 college degrees, and every 3-5 years I am looking at another layoff which then reduces me to tweener work with no benefits, and I use up everything I saved to survive... My retirement is drained, my helathcare costs consume my hard earned savings, and I'm sick and itred of watching my dream of retiring get pushed further away again and again...

You want this type of stuff to stop, start talking care of the citizens with jobs, benefits, and job secuirty we can bank on, otherwise will vote for that and take it anyways

[abbe91]

"attacked in Sept right after bush got in, so therefore, 9/11 is really Clinton's fault - LOL...thanks for the insight."
Posted by sbbm-2009 at 4:37 PM : May 21, 2009

You must confuse January and September ...
Otherwise, even in September, I'll remember that Obama just got in ...

[owlgal]

If the elected officials cut back their spending and lived within their budgets the way the rest of us do, they wouldn't have to look for taxing everything we do. What is next? The air we breathe.
For starters cut the benefits to all those with their cell phones, hair weaves, gold jewelry etc that have money to spend on those things because we pay their food, housing and
healthcare. Of course, with the way they are taxing the working class, we may all be joining the "freeloaders" in the near future.

[budmag06]

Thank you Obama and the Dems for another TAX! One can't even sit at home and have a beer to relax without worrying about paying more TAXES! Obama, YOU are a HERO for TAXING the middle class to death!

[evilbusheviks]

Sure buddy boy....it's just being DISCUSSED, but of course you republiCONS need to repeat the *** NoNooz talking head's propaganda!

[whitemale08]

HEY AMERICA.........QUIT COMPLAINING!!!!


THIS IS WHAT YOU GET WHEN YOU BAILOUT F_CKIN' WARREN BUFFET @GOLDMAN SUCKS!

It's called the Goldman Sucks tax.

This is just a sip, we still have trillions and trillions of worthless derivatives and credit-default swaps to go!

Who did you think was going to pay for all these Wall Street/City of London bailouts?

[veils-2009]

It is time that churches are redefined as corporations. Because that is truly what they are. They market and sell services. Their profits are then laundered in properties and religious corporations. Taxing religion will provide more revenues than taxing prostitution. They are identical when one looks at the final product, self satisfaction

[evilbusheviks]

omega39-2009 says:
Just go to a single payer health care system and be done with it. Their current efforts of trying to maintain profit margins for CEOs and shareholders isn't going to accomplish anything but make the plan more costly and inefficient than it needs to be.

****************

I agree, SP-UHC would cut costs dramatically, improve delivery, and put patients/physicians in charge of health care instead of the for-profit insurance companies. These GREEDY insurance companies have been cutting a fat hog for quite some time now, and will continue their fight with their lobbyists and billions in profits against any reform of the system, since the status quo treats them fine!

[evilbusheviks]

debinok1 says:
Taxes on sweets, soda, beer, wine, liquor all sound perfectly fine to me. It is about time they stopped the definition of a "sin tax" as smokers only. This will spread that cost more evenly across the major demographics of the country. Smokers should not be and should never have been the single supporting tax for health care.

****************

Come now, we've had "sin" taxes on all alcoholic beverages for quite some time along with cigarettes. You should check out the current STATE taxes on cigarettes, beer, wine and spirits in Alaska for example:

As of Jan. 1st, 2009

Cigarette tax per pack............$2.00
Spirits tax (per gallon) ........$12.80
Table Wine tax (per gallon).......$2.50
Beer tax (per gallon).............$1.07

www.taxfoundation.org/taxdata/show/245.html

[dg441-2009]

Maybe you should provide proof of your outrageous statement that McJobs provide health care benefits, since places like McDonalds, Target and WalMart certainly DO NOT!
Posted by evilbusheviks at 2:32 PM : May 21, 2009......

You need to do some research...McDonalds, Target and WalMart do have benefits, they may not be the greatest in the world but some is better than none. :-)

[evilbusheviks]

Single payer systems WILL SUCK. If you think companies are corrupt for trying to keep costs down, what do you think the government will do?

by vinnyb5
*********

Hmmmm.....maybe you haven't heard about Medicare, a single-payer health care system for the elderly over 65, which is a non-profit, government-run system with about 3% overhead costs.

On the other hand, we have the for-profit health care insurance companies that certainly DO NOT try to keep the costs down, since they've increased about 65% or more since 2000 -- much higher than inflation -- and are running about 30% overhead costs.

The for-profit insurance companies certainly don't want the competition of a government-run health care system, since then they couldn't make the excessive profits they do today, or have huge CEO pay and bonuses to keep the wealthy in the lifestyle they've grown accustomed to, including perks like private jets and vacations!

Single-payer Universal Health Care's time has come, but the for-profit health care industry will continue to fight for their GREED of the almighty American dollar.

[evilbusheviks]

1. if you don't work get a job, even if it is at McDonalds since they provide health insurance. 2. If you have a job get a second job.

by anti-global
**********

Apparently somebody cutout part of your movie, since we're in the bush/cheney depression with high unemployment, where many can't even find that FIRST job, and most don't have health care benefits.

Maybe you should provide proof of your outrageous statement that McJobs provide health care benefits, since places like McDonalds, Target and WalMart certainly DO NOT!

[displeased]

I think we should tax families with children. Families are allowed two children. You pay a tax for each child thereafter. And can't we tax churches? Those are bad for your health too.

[ayatoldya]

Jeeze, I can understand the cigarette tax. but not the beer tax when liquor is already over taxed by the states. And sugared sodas now being looked at for tax revenue. Why not tax bottled water while your at it and get a jab in for the environmentalists against throw away plastic bottles?

Perhaps there should be a luxury food tax, and tax the lobsters, shrimp, fillet Mignon, and the nasty but ohhh so good tasting fatty foods? Why stop there, lets tax the heck out of snack foods like chips and dip? And tax butter and frozen meals. That will get people to start eating their vegetables.

[omega39-2009]

====AND THE WORST IS YET TO COME AS THE LOONY-LEFT SOCIALISTS GOOSE-STEP THE COUNTRY DOWN THEIR "ROAD TO HELL."
Posted by BANLoonyLeftSocialists

Since you seem to be the one whining and sniveling, It is safe to assume it is YOUR road to hell. We all had ours under Bush and Dick_Dastardly.