The Magic Number

"McCain's broader point is sound. Many small-business owners pay taxes on their business income as individuals, and if they are successful and employing people, they will pay higher taxes under Obama. This would be a tax on job creation, at the worst possible time. Where Obama's 95 percent promise is fundamentally dishonest is in how it discounts the effect of his health-care plan. Obama would require businesses to cover their workers or pay a tax. If the tax is relatively low, employers will choose to dump their employees into Obama's new public program, making a hash of his talking point that no one will lose his current coverage under the plan. If the tax is high, employers will provide coverage themselves, but will inevitably fund it by paying less in wages or hiring less. Obama is proposing a large new tax on employment." (Lowry, Rich, "O's Magic Number," The New York Post, 10/17/08)