Thaddeus.net Blog

I was talking to a friend recently about tax philosophy and was reminded of the fact that most people don't understand how tax brackets work. Many people know what tax bracket they're in (e.g. 28%), but they don't realize that doesn't mean that they pay a flat 28% before deductions. Taxes in the US are bracketed, so millionaires pay the same amount as the minimum wage earner at the burger joint down the street on the first few thousand dollars they earn.

Read on for a detailed explanation and what it means for tax policy.

One of the few things that people on both sides of the aisle agree on when it comes to health care reform is that there should be some level of protection for people with preexisting conditions. For all the talk of repeal, I don't think you'll see a single Republican candidate this Fall talking about getting rid of that provision in the bill.

One of the biggest points of division is with the individual mandate that requires people to have health insurance. Several attorneys general across the country are today threatening to sue to prevent the individual mandate and you hear a lot of conservatives decrying the idea of forcing people to pay for a service.

What most people don't realize is that the two policy questions are very tightly intertwined.