Donald Trump's Tax plan

The Trump plan for taxes is good.  It is not a flat tax, but instead like Rubio and Kasich works with the existing code, but is adjusted to accommodate personal and business income growth.  What it would do is create four categories of people with respect to how much they will be taxed.  For individuals making $25,000 and under, they will not pay any taxes, neither will Married filers making $50,000 and under, and heads of the household making $37,000 and under. Those taxed at a 10% rate will be individuals making $25,001 to $50,000, married couples making $50,001 to $100,000 and heads of households making $37,001 to $75,000.  Both these initial two groupings will not be taxed by the capital gains taxes (money earned through things like investments as opposed to work).  Individuals making $50,001 to $150,000, married couples making $100,001 to $300,000 and heads of households making $75,001 to $225,000 will be taxed at a 20% tax rate and a capital gains tax rate of 15%.  All money beyond these amounts listed will be taxed at a 25% tax rate and a capital gains tax rate of 20%.  Interestingly, Trumps plan has three groups who are taxable and does not combine capital gains taxes with regular income like other plans such as Cruz's and Rubio's.  Of note, Trumps plan makes deductions progressive like the income tax itself.  As such those in the 10% tax category will keep all or most of their deductions, the people in the 20% category will keep a little over half their deductions and those in the 25% category will keep some of their deductions according to his website.  Charitable giving and Mortgage deductions will remain the same as they are now under Trumps plan.  Also, Trumps plan also makes health care premiums completely tax deductible.  Trump aims to eliminate as many special interest deductions as possible, and phase out others that would not work with his tax plan.  For businesses, as Trump recognizes that startups and other small and growing businesses pay their taxes via income taxes as opposed to business taxes.  So Trump will create a 15% business tax which based on his wording will allow these small business owners to choose which tax to pay, while big businesses will pay the 15% rate only.  With all the deductions reduced for the rich, and the new tax code, apparently no small businesses or middle class and lower people will be harmed by the new plan.  As such, Trump is touting that the rich will pay more.  For businesses who keep money abroad and sell outside our borders, the tax deferral on income earned abroad will disappear but the foreign tax credit will remain.  Trump also has a onetime repatriation fee of 10% for money held abroad by corporations, which Trump hopes to encourage businesses to bring home with his new tax code (according to Trump's site, $2.5 trillion is held overseas). Trump will also phase in a tax cap on the deductibility of interest expenses.  Lastly, the death tax will be eliminated.

Final Thought: Donald Trump's plan is basically Kasich's and Rubio's plan, but goes further than Kasich and has better rates than Rubio's.  It is not the flat tax that libertarians and conservatives hope for, but it is an improvement.  I think Trump helps the poor and attacks the rich all in the same tax code to show off his progressive credentials and cares about people's perceptions of fairness which he may possibly share based on what I have read in his tax and health plans.   I personally do not like the three separate rates, but his business tax rate on its own is the best compared to Cruz's 16% rate (though it taxes total income and not exclusively profit based on how it is worded).  But Trumps keeping of various tax loopholes and deductions outside of mortgage, charity and his newly added health care premium deduction could hurt him as people may say he did not go far enough, or rich people may still try to leave the country as they could still end up paying more.  I do not think he will satisfy everyone, but hey, he is still an option.

Hillary's Health care plan

Hillary's plan to take on health care builds upon the Affordable Care act, better known as Obama Care.  Her end goal is universal coverage, but it does not seem to work in the same way as Senator Sander's plan.  Her plan would attempt to make it easier and cheaper for people to purchase health care via the exchanges created by Obama Care.  To do this, she will provide a $5,000 tax credit to families to offset out of pocket premium expenses that are 5% above their income.  She will also enhance other tax credits and make it so that no family pays more than 8.5% of their income on health care for people who buy through the exchanges.  Also, she intends to fix the "family glitch" which would allow families to purchase health care on the exchanges if their employer's plan is too expensive.  Hillary will also look to expand Medicaid further to grant further access to health care for poorer Americans.  She intends to advertise to people to help them enroll more into the Medicaid and Obama care systems already in place to achieve "universal coverage".  She also believes that access to Medicaid should be granted to illegal residents and non-citizens alike.  Additionally, she wants to work with State governors to create a public option where people's health will be taken care of via a single payer system, but on a State by State basis.  Her other goals are to lower deductibles, health insurance premiums and drug costs, but she does not give any details on these subjects.

Final Thought:  It seems Hillary has not given up on the single payer idea, but does not want to lose the advantages of the health insurance industry.  So she seems to want to create a hybrid system.  The single payer systems will be implemented per State, while insurance companies will provide the backbone along with Medicaid to the exchanges.  She may be hoping that this hybrid system will counter the high costs and rationing of the European model that Sanders wants to follow for health care.  I personally do not think this system will work and will end up turning the health insurers into public utilities to implement a version of single payer health care.  But, this is Hillary's plan based on what she has stated in her campaign site.  So take it as you will.

Hillary Clinton and Taxes

Hillary's tax plan is non-specific to a degree at this point in time.  So I will present some of the details here that I have garnered from her campaign site.  For one, she intends to reform the tax code by ending the carried interest loophole and implementing the "Buffett Rule".   What this means is that Capital Gains (money derived from sources other than labor) taxes will be integrated into our regular income taxes, thus eliminating two different taxes and merge them into one.  This allows the "Buffet Rule" to be put in place which taxes the total income a person makes, from whatever source derived, thereby taxing people on wall street more "effectively".  Key note is that Republican Candidates like Senator Marco Rubio and Senator Ted Cruz will do something similar with their plans.  

Hillary does want to cut taxes in other areas though, such as keeping the $2,500 tax deduction on students, and an additional 15% tax credit on businesses that share profits with their workers on top of wages and wage increases.  She also intends to remove loopholes in corporate taxes that have encouraged businesses to send their money overseas, and provide tax relief to small businesses.  How all this is to be done though is not clear with respect to what constitutes profit sharing and other small details which would shine light on how these ideas would work.

Final Thought:  So, much of what Hillary wants to do is what the Republicans want to do as well, but in different ways.  Republicans like Cruz will create a flat tax, while Republicans like Rubio will adjust the current income tax.  However, the key difference is that Hillary's plan targets people who make more than people who are considered middle class.  Ultimately though, her plan will complicate the tax code more and encourage businesses to find other loopholes or to lobby for new ones.  So the net result is the same problems with the current tax code, but with an us versus them mentality against the more successful in America further integrated into it.

Ted Cruz on Health Care

Ted Cruz's website lacks any info on his ideas for health reform so I had to look it up somewhere else.  As such according to http://www.ontheissues.org/2016/Ted_Cruz_Health_Care.htm, Cruz intends to raise the minimum age requirement to receive Medicare which Cruz does not specify, though I would assume is age 70.  Additionally he advocates turning it into a premium support system, basically what Carson's plan does, by helping people afford private insurance companies with the government giving our seniors money to do so.  Likewise, Cruz would repeal Obama Care and allow health insurance companies to sell health insurance across State lines without limit so as to improve competition and thus lower costs according to: http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2016/01/28/ted_cruz_s_horrifying_idea_of_health_reform.html, which is a web article that is critical of Cruz as his ideas do not address pre-existing conditions.  The article sites Cruz directly in the debates and shows that he intends to expand Health Savings Accounts as well.  In an interview on August 3, 2015: Interview with Jack Heath on Voters First Forum, Cruz was asked his views on health reform (source:  http://2016.presidential-candidates.org/Cruz/?on=health-care) where his answers from the debate did not differ in the slightest.  Basically, Cruz is probably aiming for what Carson was going to do, but is keeping silent on the details.

Final Thought:  I am saddened to see that Cruz does not have any official details on his health reform ideas which makes Carson's ideas superior here due to details of how it would work and the fact that Carson has greater knowledge of the health care system America currently has.  It would not be surprising for Cruz to mimic Carson's idea is some way to achieve the goals he set out to do which is to make healthcare personal again with respect to patients and doctors while also reforming Medicare and Medicaid.

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.