Klobuchar And Franken Have Always Opposed The Medical Device Tax, Winston!

Right in the nick of time as even non-political Americans start to get concerned about tax hikes and the “fiscal cliff”, some good news from the Strib!

Yes, Senators Klobuchar and Franken both oppose the Medical Device Tax!

Minnesota’s two senators sought Monday to delay a tax on medical devices that was expected to add $28 billion over the next decade to help pay for health care reform.

Democratic Senators Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken pointed to thousands of high-paying jobs that device companies support in Minnesota, headquarters to such giant devicemakers as Medtronic and St. Jude Medical. The industry has painted the tax as a job killer that would hurt innovation.

“The delay would give us the opportunity to repeal or reduce that tax,” said Klobuchar, co-author of a letter sent to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid seeking the delay.

So that means the Senators will join 3rd CD Congressman Erik Paulsen and support his bill in the House to repeal the tax, right?

Franken is among the letter’s signers who would not support Paulsen’s plan. “I felt the offset in the Paulsen bill would have undermined the architecture of the Affordable Care Act,” Franken said.

Oh, don’t bother us with details! Franken and Klobuchar – and say, doesn’t she just look stunning in the photo the Strib opted to use? – are coming out strongly in favor of delaying the tax!

So what’s missing from the Strib story, bylined to Jim Spencer?

Look it over. Carefully. Carefully…

How about any mention that both Senators voted for the tax initially?

Both Franken and Klobuchar participated eagerly in jamming Obamacare down the American people’s collective throat; both have timidly objected via friendly media in the least obtusive way possible; never bucking their caucus, never ruffling the Administration’s narrative, never standing up for the thousands of constituents that are already being harmed by the tax in any way that would bring them any risk whatsoever. Both of our Senators have invested facile lip service to delaying or repealing the tax – but neither of them have ever put a vote, or any substantive political capital, on the line.

Spencer’s loathsome Strib piece is what we call “public relations”. It’s what the Strib and most of the rest of the Twin Cities media is there for.

Posted

December 17, 2012

Media Bias, Minnesota’s Ministry Of Truth, MN Congressional, Senator Franken

Mitch Berg

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Comments

5 responses to “Klobuchar And Franken Have Always Opposed The Medical Device Tax, Winston!”

nate

December 17, 2012

No fair, Mitch. They had to read it to find out what was in it. Okay, so they read slow. Not nice to make fun of slow readers. You should be ashamed.
K-Rod

December 17, 2012

Not to mention how devastating this innovation tax will be to the small start up med device companies. Now if only the media would tell the truth that both MN senators voted FOR the tax.
Seflores

December 17, 2012

Unfortunately for the employee’s (better known as “workers” to you, Lefty) of Medtronic, Boston Sci & St Jude and others – your elected representatives let you down. Now if one of your medical devices had failed (or not-it doesn’t really matter) and a child who had one died, Vanilla Fluff would have been all over you with legislation named for the dead child that would have driven up your insurance and litigation expenses and likely had your company abandon the business and lay you off. Smalley is to beholden to his fellow Ivy League idealogues (better known as your “betters”, peasants) who wrote Obamacare to want to confront the reality that the more and higher you tax something, the less you will get of it. And the less people you will need to employ to make of the higher taxed item.
Try not to let it bother you. Focus on the device you are making now – particularly if it’s the heart stent you are making for me.
Chuck

December 17, 2012

K-Rod….you nailed it. For the most part, many large corporations can find a way to deal with government mandates, regulations, taxes, lawsuits, etc. Often the solution involves outsourcing to Indian and China, but the company may survive.

But would you spend your life savings and put in 80 hour work weeks to startup a business, knowning that you have to purchase Cadillac insurance plans for all of your employees, that you don’t know when the ADA act will bit you in the ass. That the gov’t may say you don’t employee enough women or certain minorities, etc.
mpowell

December 18, 2012

Amazing how I didn’t read all the bill, wasn’t briefed on it or even had to vote on it and I (apparently unlike the majority of ill informed MN voters) knew that a medical device tax was part of the funding for Obamacare. But of course I wasn’t made aware of it by reading it in the Red Star or listening to the ole’neighbor. No. I educated myself and listened and read sources that report ALL the truth. It’s a travesty that Klobuchar wasn’t hammered relentlessly on this issue by Bills and GOP PACs and that Bills wasn’t adequately funded or supported to pursue it. I only hope that who ever steps up and runs against Stuart Smiley in a few years latches on to issues such as this like a wolf running down a deer on a frozen lake. Though to quote Rick Nolan “That just isn’t Minnesoootan”