Obama Started Fighting Inequality Years Ago -- You Just Didn't Notice [View all]

[okaawhatever]

If you’re searching for a modern-day Robin Hood, look no further than Obamacare, or the 2010 Affordable Care Act as it’s more boringly known.

That’s because President Obama’s landmark health care reform law indeed does take from the rich (and middle class) and give to the poor, according to a new paper out of the nonpartisan Brookings Institute.

The study’s authors, Henry J. Aaron and Gary Burtless, found that the poorest 20 percent of Americans will receive what amounts to a 6 percent raise in their average income as a result of the law.

SNIP

In an email to The Huffington Post, co-author Henry Aaron listed a number of reasons Obamacare takes a small slice out of the incomes of the top 80 percent: an increased payroll tax for the rich, a new tax on investment income and a reduction to enrollees in Medicare Advantage, a private insurance plan. The AP listed a jump in Medicare premiums for the wealthiest retirees as an additional reason.

Burtless said in a phone interview with HuffPost that the study's results shouldn't overly concern Americans that appear to take a hit. "We do not take into account the benefit that people derive that if they lose their insurance there will be an affordable insurance plan available," he said. "That has value to most of us.'

Continued at Link:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/30/obamacare-inequality_n_4689644.html?utm_hp_ref=business