Taxing benefits: Unions would be hurt badly

The Union Leader comes out swinging at the prospect of taxing high-end health insurance plans in order to fund ObamaCare.

The class warfare generated by President Obama's "spread the wealth around" philosophy appeals to some low- and middle-income Americans. But the truth is that it inevitably forces many of them to sacrifice their wealth, too. The "rich" simply don't make enough for us to fund all of Obama's grand schemes from their paychecks alone. Blue-collar Americans will pay, too. That's the nature of collectivism. It never has been, and never will be, funded solely by "the rich."

Taxing people who buy expensive health insurance makes no sense at all. These plans don't drive up health care costs for the rest of us. They pay for the expensive diagnostics machines and experimental procedures that will help us live longer. Taxing them will do nothing but drag down those who are paying their own way and degrade health care outcomes for everyone. But don't call it socialism. That would be mean.