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Biden declares war on “expanding public health funds by increasing taxes on the rich”

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US President Joe Biden is pushing for a ‘tax increase for the rich’ to expand the finances of Medicare, a public health insurance system. It can be interpreted that the government has effectively declared war on the opposition Republican Party, which demands cuts in fiscal spending ahead of the announcement of next year’s budget on the 9th (local time). Accordingly, there are observations that the tax increase and the federal government debt issue will be the main issues in the presidential election next year.

According to the White House on the 7th, President Biden’s budget for fiscal year 2024 includes an increase in the Medicare tax rate imposed on incomes of more than $400,000 (about 530 million won) per year from 3.8% to 5%.

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Medicare, which mainly targets people over 65 and people with disabilities, currently has more than 65 million people enrolled. According to the Associated Press, about $900 billion goes to Medicare each year. Medicare funds, funded by income tax and congressional-approved funds, are projected to run out by 2028. There is also a prospect that the point of depletion will come earlier due to the aging population.

In a contribution to the New York Times (NYT) that day, President Biden explained that “the balance of the fund can be maintained until 2050 without reducing Medicare benefits” through this budget proposal that includes’Medicare rich tax increase’. “Let’s ask the highest earners to pay their fair share. Millions of workers who have helped build their wealth will be able to retire with dignity, receiving Medicare benefits.”

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However, it does not seem easy for President Biden’s proposal to pass Congress.

The White House and Congress are confronting over the increase in the federal government debt ceiling, which is currently $31.4 trillion (approximately 4 trillion 1476 trillion won). Republicans, who hold a majority in the House, argue that raising the cap requires cutting spending. Some Republicans say that Social Security and Medicare should also be brought to the negotiating table. Senate Republican Mitch McConnell told reporters that day, “(President Biden’s proposal) will not see the light of day.”

Meanwhile, controversy is growing in the political world as Fox News, which tends to be right-wing, reported that the’invasion of the 1st and 6th Capitol Hill’ by former President Donald Trump’s strong supporters in 2021 was exaggerated. Fox News released a video inside the Capitol at the time obtained from House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, Republican, and said, “The overwhelming majority of people who entered the Capitol were peaceful and orderly. They are bystanders, not mobs.” In response, Senate Democratic Party leader Chuck Schumer demanded the cancellation of the report, saying, “I used a video that only edited peaceful scenes,” and criticized Speaker McCarthy, who provided the video, for helping to spread conspiracy theories.

Source: Donga

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