It's 99.9% bullshit. Does the government need 4.3% for Health Spending? Fine: increase some combination of Income Tax and/or Sales Tax to get that money and get it over with. Don't event regressive new taxes when we have a perfectly fine system in place to get the goddamn money now.

event -> invent

Well, we could borrow and have my children pay for their childhood care or we could just not give health care to them (lived where that happens - not thanks) so I will happily live in the 0.1% world where people pay their way. If it is regressive shift the formula but a dedicated tax for a dedicated core purpose works.

I'm not saying borrowing. I'm saying we have perfectly fine mechanisms for taking money from citizens; we don't need a new one. It's inefficient (i.e. causes unnecessary loss of cash) from the government's POV and from business' POV.

And quite frankly, there are no dedicated taxes -- they are an illusion. The X dollars collected for any dedicated tax simply frees up $X in general revenue for other purposes.

It's this type of dishonest slight of hand -- taxing while pretending it's not a tax -- that really makes my teeth grit. The government needs money? Fine, go take it from me, but don't pretend you're not by calling them "fees", "levies", "insurance" or whatever.

Well since I've lost $10.00 a pay; I've lost my doctor too and have been unable to find a new one for me, my hubby or my kids :( Although one doesn't necessarily have to do with the other, I am bitter at knowing that prior to paying, I at least had a doctor to go to.