Third, as those union members and other workers lose their health benefits, which are not taxable, the Senate assumes the lost benefits will be replaced by wages, which are taxable. 

you actually see it in your pocket in terms of wages. Of course when you get things in your pocket in terms of wages, you pay taxes on them,

Senate is counting on raising $120 billion in new taxes over the next 10

far more comes from wages.

95 percent of people with the so-called Cadillac plans make under $250,000

Laws requiring drivers to carry auto insurance do the same thing, but people can choose not to own a car. The health insurance mandate includes no such alternative.

"If Congress can mandate this, they can mandate anything," they wrote. "Congress could require every American to buy a new Chevy Impala every year, or pay a 'tax' equivalent to its blue book value, because such purchases would stimulate commerce and repay government loans."

t estimated that the public health insurance plan could save on the order of $150 billion over 10 years, relative to not having that public health insurance plan in the mix.

It will create competition for the private insurers.

big issue

his is a choice between public and private insurance

if we don't embrace the public plan in some form

skyrocketing costs making it impossible for us to fulfill the commitments that we have made in health reform.

The people who are going to do best are older people with a problematic medical history," said health policy expert Paul Ginsburg, of the Center for Studying Health System Change.

For years, the government has been paying the private plans more than it costs traditional Medicare to deliver similar services. The plans used the money to provide extra benefits — mainly lower copayments and deductibles.