Ted Cruz on Taxes

Continuing with the theme of looking at the Presidential Candidates tax plans and health ideas I will now discuss Ted Cruz's plan.

Senator Cruz proposes a flat tax rate of 10% where a family of four will not pay taxes for the first $36,000 they make per year.  Additionally, Cruz's plan keeps the child tax credit, and expands the earned income tax credit to enable people to keep more money.  People will have a standard deduction of $10,000 and a personal exception of $4,000.  Also, deductions for charitable donations and mortgage deductions are kept as well.  The death tax, and the alternative minimum tax are eliminated.  Basically, Cruz wants people to be able to file their taxes without the need for an accountant.

Additional changes are the elimination of taxes on the internet, Obama Care taxes as it will be eliminated and the IRS will be eliminated and replaced. The payroll tax will also be eliminated, the tax that funds Social Security and Medicare, and replaced.  Instead of the payroll tax, when people pay their regular taxes an amount is calculated from that amount to go toward people's Social Security and Medicare accounts.  The reason for this change is due to the fact that some people pay much more taxes here than they would under the regular tax system.  So eliminating this actually saves people money.  On top of all this, Cruz calls for the creation of a Universal Savings Account (USA).  The USA allows all Americans to save up to $25,000 yearly pre-taxed (not taxed till taken out).  A USA's money can be used for anything without restrictions and is designed to help people save enough money to afford to buy a house or a car or anything for that matter.  (Note: Here too like with Carson's HEA, I would like this account to be interest bearing so that people can earn more for saving their money).

On the business tax front, the taxes on Businesses will be lowered from 35% to 16%.  This too will be a flat tax, and businesses will be able to deduct expenses such as equipment, computer costs and other business expenses.  Any exports will be untaxed, but imports will all be equally taxed at the 16% rate.  Additionally taxes on profits earned abroad for both individuals and businesses will be eliminated.  

Final Thought:  Overall a good tax plan.  It allows us to keep more of our money and has an excellent business tax plan.  The USA idea works well as it aids people in saving money they otherwise would potentially have a hard time saving.  Again, like Carson's HEA, Cruz's USA can aid people in paying a lower amount of taxes.  Unlike Carson though Cruz keeps more deductions/credits and everyone is taxed at the same rate regardless of income.

Bernie Sanders on healthcare

Health Care is relatively simple when it comes to Sanders' plan.  That plan is a single payer health care system.  So how will that work.  Basically it is Medicare, but it will cover people of all ages, and help deal with Dental, Optical, and long-term and short term care.  All aspects of health care will be covered by this single system.  Based on what Sanders has on his sight, government will set the standards for what constitutes a doctor and the training they require.  This nationalization will most likely apply to Pharmacists and all other health professionals as well.  Likewise, this may mean that drug companies or aspects of the drug companies may be nationalized.  Sanders points out that they will be able to negotiate for lower drug prices because of this, but last this author checked (as I work as a pharmaceutical technician) we inhibit some drug companies from selling their drugs cheaper by adding unnecessary safety standards, requiring drugs to be prescription when they need not to be, and the FDA limits the production on how many drugs can be produced per year thus increasing the cost of drugs.  So government is at least a part of the reason our drug costs are so high in my experience.  But Sanders basically nationalizing them effectively does the same thing it does already so there will be little to no changes there in my opinion with respect to prices. The main advantage to the plan though is that you can go anywhere to any doctor and still have coverage in this one size fits all system as Bernie points out that our system may cause people with the same coverage and condition to be treated differently (I personally think this is what's supposed to happen as each person's body is different and that treating them the same can potentially put people at risk of staying unhealthy and worse).  Sanders though wants to focus on preventative medicine so as to reduce costs in the long run which also makes sense, but how his system will do that without providing incentives to the people to come in for checkups regularly, exercise, or just eat healthy is entirely unclear.  You see without these incentives to enhance or create this preventative care system people will not participate.  Also you actually end up increasing costs using a preventative care model for it costs more to test and evaluate people on a regular basis to try and catch a disease or condition before it starts than it is to treat the condition.  So personally, I think empowering people with medical knowledge on how to screen themselves for cancers and awareness programs work better all the while actually finding a cure, but this is just my two cents.  

Final Thought:  Overall, Sanders wants to mimic the European healthcare model with a single payer health care system.  Problem I have with it is that government chooses what will and will not be covered and thus people may lose access to certain forms of treatment for it will not be affordable like it is here in the U.S. currently.  Also, our health insurance premiums are high because it is not built around selling to individual people, but instead built around selling to businesses.  So if the Republicans have their way by reversing the status quo, then we will have at the very least cheap health insurance.  To me, a single payer system where healthcare is rationed based on a government's budget is the wrong approach despite all the advantages it may have.  Instead a personal system where we can treat ourselves and only go to a doctor when we have a health issue we cannot handle ourselves is the way to go in my view.  So, yea I am critical of Sanders here, but I work in the current system and see where it can be improved and even fixed.  But if you like Sanders' version of health care, then he is your guy.  Hope you enjoyed the read, and may the best candidate win.

Bernie Sanders on Taxes

So Bernie Sanders fully admits that everyone's taxes will go up.  But how will they go up.  Sander's website breaks down what taxes will pay for what.  For infrastructure, Sanders intends to tax the money that businesses hold in offshore accounts.  This would require the IRS to figure out how much money is held in offshore tax havens and then tax the companies saying that they owe this much money. He will also end loopholes in the tax code as well to help pay for his plan to rebuild America's infrastructure.

To get free community college, he will implement a tax on Wall Street Speculators which will amount to $300 billion according to his web site.  I am personally skeptical on how a base $300 billion per year can accomplish this as Speculators don't all exist in the United States and they have enough money to leave and renounce their citizenship. 

Here is one I do agree with wholeheartedly, to get more money into Social Security and Medicare, Sanders wants the cap taken off of taxable income.  What people don't know, only a certain amount of money can be placed into Social Security and Medicare per person per year thanks to a cap on the tax which allows the richest of us to pay off the tax and then not be taxed the rest of the year.  By eliminating this tax cap, much more money can be collected to help extend the life of Social Security and Medicare.  

Sander's wants to create a young jobs program which will help disadvantaged kids get jobs.  To pay for this estimated $5.5 Billion program, Sanders will eliminate the carried interest loophole which allows for a tax break on people of higher incomes. 

For his paid family and medical leave plan, he intend to implement an additional $1.61 per week per person from the payroll tax (the same tax that funds Social Security and Medicare) to pay for it.  So this is the main area where everyone's taxes will increase as apparently there are instances where people pay more for the payroll tax than any other tax (hence why Republicans want to find a way to alter the way we contribute to Social Security and Medicare). 

Bernie wants to protect pensions of about 1.5 million Americans (there are $300 million of us in total) by closing two loopholes on people receiving money they inherit and on art work. Unfortunately this will affect people who own small businesses the most as it makes the Death tax (estate tax) worse as small businesses can be worth a million dollars plus and thus to pay the tax a family member may be forced to sell that business just to pay the tax.

To pay for renewable energy, Sanders will end all oil, coal, and gas subsidies (giveaways).  Which means he is transferring these "giveaways" to the renewable energy group.  So if you’re against government spending/corporate welfare you will probably have a problem with this as it is simply shifting money from one group to another.

Finally, Sanders health plan will be paid for by a 6.2% tax on a business's income and then an additional 2.2% tax on us the American people.  So our taxes will go up a lot.  Also, the progressive income tax we have already, will now include capital gains and dividends together as income (basically money made from investments), which means we again will be paying a lot more on things like stocks, and maybe even our 401ks depending on how Sanders establishes his tax plan.  He also says via his website that eliminating tax deductions for the rich, adjusting the estate tax and our ability to deduct health expenditures will also be subject to change all to help pay for his health plan.

Final Thought:  So, his plan increases taxes for everyone by at least 2.2% of our income minimum.  But if you have savings, or investments which many middle class people now have, you can be paying significantly more.  While his ideas are nice, it is in this writer's opinion that what Senator Sanders wants to accomplish and the method by which he wants to do so will cause all the rich to leave the country, businesses to leave the country, and that taxes will continue to skyrocket till the country collapses financially.  I just see from here idealisms, but nothing here is financially feasible.

Marco Rubio on Health Care

Marco Rubio also wants to be rid of Obama Care.  That is a theme among the Republican Candidates, but with what?  That is what we are going to find out.  In this case, after Rubio repeals Obama Care, he intends to create a refundable tax credit towards buying health insurance for individuals.  After that he says he will reform health care regulations, create protections for those with pre-existing conditions and basically make the entire system focused on individuals so that people can afford to buy their own health care without the aid of an employer.  For Medicaid, Rubio will provide block grants that allow States to use the money as they wish to provide health for their poorer populations, but without the government mandates.  

For Medicare, Rubio will keep it for current seniors, but people coming in will have options.  In this case Rubio like Carson and Cruz will offer some form of option that allows Medicare recipients to choose from a variety of private health insurance plans and the traditional fee for service system.  Basically, it comes close to Carson's idea but still uses government by having the guys who run Medicare approve of which insurance companies and plans may be offered up to our seniors.  You could argue that this protects our seniors from making a mistake in choosing a bad plan, but it hinders the customizable options that comes with Carson's plan.  However, this is still a market driven approach and could be used to test the waters to see if Medicare could survive an evolution into a system like what Carson and potentially Cruz advocates.

Final Thought:  Well this is Rubio's health plan in a nutshell.  At this point I prefer Carson's due to the freedom it gives patients to choose the plans they want, but I want Cruz's idea to enable people to purchase health care over State lines without limit.  However, like Rubio's tax plan, it is an acceptable alternative.  In fact, if I did not know about Carson's plan, and Cruz's was more specific on details, then I may have been in favor of this plan as opposed to Carson's.  But this is just my opinion, and hopefully this gives you enough information for you my readers to make an informed vote.

Marco Rubio on Taxes

Senator Marco Rubio's tax plan does not go for the flat tax idea like Carson or Cruz.  Instead it changes the system's seven tax rates to three.  The rates are: 15% for individuals making 0 to $75,000 and couples making 0 to $150 thousand, 25% for individuals making $75,000 to $150,000 and couples making $150,000 to $300,000 and 35% on everything over the $150,000 mark for individuals and $300,001 for individuals.  Eliminates all deductions save the charitable deduction and an altered mortgage deduction. Creates a new $2,000 (individual)/ $4,000 (couples) refundable tax credit replacing the existing one that phases out for individuals at $150,000 and couples making $300,000.  Additionally this credit will be unavailable to income earners who make $200,000 individual and $400,000 couples.  It eliminates the alternative minimum tax and the marriage penalty.  Also it creates a $2,500 tax credit toward college expenses and jobs skills training but has the same restrictions as the refundable tax credit as mentioned above.  The Rubio tax also creates a new tax credit for kids on top of the existing one for an additional $2,500 and it will be refundable against the payroll tax in addition to regular taxes. His plan offers a 25% refundable tax credit toward businesses that offer paid family leave for four to 12 weeks but is limited to $4,000 per worker.  Also, all business income including taxes on business investments are changed to a single 25% rate.  Cruz does the same thing but his rate is 16%.  Rubio also switches to a territorial tax system where corporate income is only taxed here in the United States and not abroad.  Also, interest is no longer taxed under Rubio's plan with respect to individual bank accounts.

Final thought:  Rubio takes the existing tax code and simplifies it, but you cannot file on a form the size of a postcard like Cruz's or Carson’s.  Is this an acceptable plan? Sure.  Namely because it is an improvement over our existing system.  However, does it go as far as Cruz and Carson's?  You be the judge.

Governor Kasich on Health Care

Governor Kasich seems to want to replicate the success he has had in Ohio with health care, this time nationwide.  Basically he wants to get the whole health industry involved in being concerned about each other's costs to generate a health system that is incentivized to save money rather than spend it to profit.  In what Kasich calls patient centered primary care, all insurers work to incentivize doctors and other medical professionals to treat the patient's issues with preventative medicine practices while reducing as much of the costs as possible, but equal or greater quality of care by rewarding them in some way.  It seems that this is partially done by what Kasich calls episode based payments.  So while doctors are being rewarded for preventive medicine, Kasich wants doctors, specialists, medical device manufacturers and the rest to be rewarded in some way too to incentivize even more savings and higher quality.  This seems to come in the form of insurances rewarding a higher payout to doctors who save them money for conducting a procedure or operation in a way that saves the insurance company money, but is of equal or greater quality that otherwise would have been given regardless.

Final Thought:  Kasich's logic is that providers of healthcare in our fee for service model of medicine are incentivized to perform more services to treat the person who is sick rather than keep them healthy.  While the logic is sound Kasich is talking about a total revolution in healthcare.  However, his wording on his site worries me.  While he does say he wants Obama care repealed as it is an undue burden on businesses and that it mistakes treatment of symptoms for treating the problem, his wording indicates he is in favor of another Federal grab to interfere with healthcare.  I don't know, maybe it is just me.  I like where he is going, but I fear the idea of government getting involved more to create this change in our system.  So I personally think Governor Kasich should stay in Ohio as governor and perfect this model so that it can be replicated by other States rather than risk this model on the whole country when it seems that Ohio is still revising and implementing this new form of health care system (based this opinion on the articles he linked to on his site).

Governor John Kasich on Taxes

Governor Kasich has his own ideas for tax reform.  They resemble Rubio's but seem to be limited in scale in my opinion.  Any case, here is what Kasich will do to taxes as described by the Huffington Post and Fortune. 

Kasich will lower the top rate from 39.6% to 28% and lower the other rates as well, but those new rates are not specified.  Additionally, Kasich plans to reduce the total number of tax brackets from 7 to three.  He will reduce long term capital gains taxes for top income earners from 20% to 15%.  The death tax (estate tax) like every Republican tax plan will be eliminated.  He intends to increase the federal earned income tax credit by 10% while maintaining charitable deductions and mortgage deductions. Business taxes will go from 35% to 25% mimicking Rubio's tax rate, but Kasich doubles the research and development tax credit for small businesses.  Also, a tax discount will be made available to American companies that store money overseas in an attempt to have them bring some of that money back to the United States.  From there he does the same thing as Rubio by switching to a Territorial tax system where the government will only tax corporate income earned in the United States.

Final Thought:  Basically Kasich changes the tax code a little bit.  He tweaks it if you will.  Reason being is that he knows Washington D.C. will not, or avoid any dramatic changes to the status quo.  As such, Kasich will have to pull out all the stops if he would try to pass a tax plan like Cruz, or Carson's.  Kasich's plan really changes nothing else with the tax code.  Same corporate loopholes and basically has the same large cumbersome tax code that we all have come to hate.  But you be the judge as to whether Kasich's plan is more reasonable or practical compared to the other candidates.