Introduced in the House: “America's Affordable Health Choices Act”

Well hang onto your buttes, here we go again. Today, to some fanfare and self-congratulations, House Democrats announced the filing of “America's Affordable Health Choices Act,” something that many Americans have long-waited for.

Its chief author is Congressmen John Dingell (D - MI) who has filed a universal health care bill every year that he has been in Congress – since 1963. But many have had a hand in this.

Notable is how Congress proposes to fund this, something that we all heard last year during the campaign. A sliding scale surtax will be assessed to the ones most able to pay it, those with incomes over $250,000 a year. Sliding scale in that the percentage goes up as the income goes up.

This is going to make a lot of Republicans very, very mad.

Notable also is the inclusion of a 2.5% (of your gross income – above a certain level) penalty should you decide not to have any health insurance at all. It provides an incentive to participate in a plan. This means that not to do so is no longer an individual right. It is as anti-social as not having a driver’s license but driving a car anyway.

If you opt out of an insurance plan, that is a privilege you have to pay for just like you do when you get a driver’s license.

This is going to make the Libertarians crazy.

Well . . . crazier.