Dear President Obama and Congress:
As early as this week, the House of Representatives will vote on the Senate-passed health care bill as well as a reconciliation package making changes to the bill. While Speaker Pelosi asserts that health care reform will create four million jobs, we disagree. In our view, the health care bill contains a number of provisions that will eliminate jobs, reduce hours and wages, and limit future job creation.
New Taxes. The bill raises taxes by almost $500 billion over ten years. A significant portion of these tax increases will fall on small business owners, reducing capital and limiting economic growth and hiring.
New and Increased Medicare Taxes. An increase in the Medicare payroll tax included in the bill will affect small businesses employing millions of Americans. Over time, higher payroll taxes will decrease wages for these employees. And a new Medicare tax on investment income such as interest, dividends, and capital gains proposed by President Obama and likely included in the bill will threaten jobs and decrease economic growth.
Employer Mandate. The bill will impose a tax of $2,000 per employee on employers with more than 50 employees that do not provide health insurance. The bill will also tax employers that offer health coverage deemed "unaffordable" by the government. These new taxes on employers will reduce employment or be passed on to workers in the form of lower wages or reduced hours.
In addition to constricting economic growth and reducing employment, the health care bill will increase spending on health care and will increase the cost of health coverage. The new and higher taxes on America's small businesses and workers included in the bill are detrimental to job creation and economic growth, especially now given the fragile state of the economy. The Congress should instead enact a health care bill that will reduce spending on health care, reduce the cost of health coverage for every American, and that does not harm the economy or cost jobs.
Sincerely,
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1. Adam Gifford Jr. Professor and Chair Department of Economics California State University |
2. Charles Calomiris Henry Kaufman Professor of Financial Institutions Columbia University |
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3. Alan Viard Resident Scholar American Enterprise Institute |
4. Charles N. Steele Herman and Suzanne Dettwiler Chair in Economics Assistant Professor Dept. Economics and Business Administration Hillsdale College |
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5. Alex Brill Research Fellow American Enterprise Institute |
6. Christopher Douglas Assistant Professor of Economics University of Michigan, Flint |
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7. Allan Meltzer Professor of Political Economy Carnegie Mellon University |
8. Coldwell Daniel III Professor Emeritus of Economics University of Memphis |
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9. Arthur A Fleisher III Professor & Chair Department of Economics Metropolitan State College of Denver |
10. David L. Kendall Professor of Economics and Finance Chair Department of Business and Economics University of Virginia's College at Wise |
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11. Barry Poulson Professor of Economics University of Colorado Boulder |
12. David VanHoose Herman W. Lay Professor of Private Enterprise Baylor University |
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13. Benjamin Zycher Senior fellow Pacific Research Institute |
14. Dennis Halcoussis Professor of Economics California State University, Northridge |
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15. J. Brian O'Roark Associate Professor of Economics Department of Finance and Economics Robert Morris University |
16. Derek Stimel Assistant Professor of Economics Menlo College |
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17. Brian Strow BB&T Professor for the Study of Capitalism Associate Professor of Economics Western Kentucky University |
18. Diana Furchtgott-Roth Senior Fellow Hudson Institute |
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19. Bruce Bender Professor Lubar School of Business University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee 21. Donald Booth Professor of Economics Chapman University |
20. Don Bellante Professor of Economics University of South Florida |
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22. Dorla A. Evans Professor of Finance University of Alabama in Huntsville |
23. Glenn Wilson Associate Professor of Economics Odessa College, Odessa, TX |
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24. Dorsey D. Farr Partner French, Wolf & Farr |
25. Howard Baetjer Lecturer Department of Economics Towson University |
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26. Douglas Holtz-Eakin President American Action Forum |
27. Ivan Pongracic, Jr. Associate Professor of Economics Hillsdale College |
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28. Earl Grinols Distinguished Professor of Economics Department of Economics Baylor University |
29. J. Christopher Hughen Associate Professor of Finance Daniels College of Business University of Denver |
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30. G. Michael Phillips Professor of Finance, Real Estate, and Insurance College of Business and Economics California State University, Northridge |
31. James L. Doti President and Donald Bren Distinguished Chair of Economics Chapman University |
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32. Gary Wolfram William Simon Professor of Economics and Public Policy Hillsdale College |
33. James F. Smith Chief Economist EconForecaster, LLC |
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34. Gene Smiley Emeritus Professor of Economics Marquette University |
35. Jane Lillydahl Professor Emerita University of Colorado at Boulder |
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36. George J. Viksnins Professor of Economics Emeritus Georgetown University |
37. John Bethune Dorothy and K. D. Kennedy Chair of Business Barton College Wilson, NC |
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38. Gerald Gay Chairman and Professor of Finance Georgia State University |
39. John Eckalbar Professor of Economics California State University, Chico |
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40. Gerald R. Jensen Professor of Finance Northern Illinois University 42. John P. Hoehn Professor Environmental and Natural Resource Economics Michigan State University |
41. John R. Graham Director, Health Care Studies Pacific Research Institute 43. Lester D. Taylor Professor Emeritus of Economics University of Arizona |
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44. John Merrifield Professor of Economics University of Texas at San Antonio |
45. Marek Kolar Assistant Professor Ketner School of Business Trine University |
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46. John Seater Professor of Economics North Carolina State University |
47. Micha Gisser Professor Emeritus of Economics University of New Mexico |
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48. John Wicks Professor Emeritus University of Montana |
49. Michelle Michot Foss Chief Energy Economist and Head Center for Energy Economics Bureau of Economic Geology Jackson School of Geosciences University of Texas at Austin |
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50. Joseph S. DeSalvo Professor of Economics University of South Florida |
51. Mike Schuyler Senior Economist Institute for Research on the Economics of Taxation |
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52. Joseph Haslag Professor of Economics, University of Missouri |
53. Nancy Jay Associate Professor of Finance Mercer University |
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54. Joseph Zoric Associate Professor of Economics MBA Director Franciscan University of Steubenville |
55. Nikolai G. Wenzel Wallace and Marion Reemelin Chair in Free-Market Economics Assistant Professor of Economics Hillsdale College |
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56. Judd W. Patton Professor of Economics Bellevue University |
57. Owen Irvine Associate Professor of Economics Michigan State University |
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58. Kevin Hassett Director of Economic Policy Studies and Senior Fellow American Enterprise Institute |
59. Phoebus J. Dhrymes Edwin W. Rickert Professor of Economics Columbia University |
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60. Lawrence Franko Professor of Finance (ret.) University of Massachusetts, Boston College of Management |
61. Paul Gregory Cullen Professor of Economics University of Houston |
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62. Michael C. Davis Associate Professor Missouri University of Science and Technology |
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63. Lee Ohanian Professor of Economics UCLA |
64. Robert Dammon Professor of Finance Carnegie Mellon University |
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65. Paul H. Rubin Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of Economics Emory University |
66. Robert Genetski President Classicalprinciples.com |
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67. Richard Grant Professor of Finance & Economics Lipscomb University |
68. Robert Herren Professor of Economics North Dakota State University |
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69. Phillip Bryson Professor of Economics Brigham Young University |
70. Robert Tamura Professor of Economics Clemson University |
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71. R. Ashley Lyman Professor Emeritus of Economics and Statistics University of Idaho |
72. Roger Meiners Professor of Economics University of Texas at Arlington |
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73. R. David Ranson President and Director of Research, H. C. Wainwright & Co. Economics Inc. |
74. Roger Leroy Miller Center for University Studies Arlington, TX |
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75. Richard Cebula Editor Journal of Regional Analysis and Policy Managing Editor Journal of Economics and Finance Education |
76. Sanjai Bhagat Professor of Finance Director, Ph.D. Program Leeds School of Business University of Colorado Boulder |
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77. Richard E. La Near Chair holder of Free Enterprise School of Business Missouri Southern State University |
78. Sherry L. Jarrell Professor of Practice in Finance and Economics Schools of Business Wake Forest University |
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79. Richard Vedder Edwin and Ruth Distinguished Professor of Economics Ohio University |
80. Simon Hakim Director, Center for Competitive Government Fox School of Business & Management Professor of Economics Temple University |
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81. Robert D. Tollison J. Wilson Newman Professor of Economics Clemson University 83. Stan Liebowitz Ashbel Smith Professor of Economics Director Center for the Analysis of Property Rights and Innovation School of Management University of Texas--Dallas |
82. Stacie E. Beck Associate Professor of Economics University of Delaware 84. Thomas A. Rhee Professor of Finance, California State University, Long Beach |
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85. Stephen Entin President & Executive Director, Institute for Research on the Economics of Taxation |
86. Thomas Carl Rustici Assistant Professor of Economics George Mason University |
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87. Stephen W. Pruitt Arvin Gottlieb/Missouri Endowed Chair of Business Economics and Finance Henry W. Bloch School of Business and Public Administration University of Missouri-Kansas City |
88. Timothy Mathews Assistant Professor of Economics Kennesaw State University |
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89. Steve Jackstadt Professor Emeritus of Economics University of Alaska Anchorage |
90. Tom Lehman Professor of Economics College of Arts and Sciences Indiana Wesleyan University |
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91. Steven E. Margolis Professor of Economics North Carolina State University |
92. Tom Miller Resident Fellow American Enterprise Institute |
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93. Steve Parente Associate Professor Department of Finance Carlson School of Management University of Minnesota |
94. Tomas Philipson Daniel Levin Professor of Public Policy Studies University of Chicago |
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95. Steven T. Call Economics Professor Emeritus Metropolitan State College Denver, Colorado |
96. William R. Dougan Professor John E. Walker Department of Economics Clemson University |
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97. Steven N. Kaplan Neubauer Family Professor of Entrepreneurship and Finance University of Chicago Booth School of Business |
98. William F. Ford Former President Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta |
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99. Ted Day Professor of Finance School of Management University of Texas at Dallas Richardson, Texas |
100. Marc W. Simpson Chairman, Department of Finance Northern Illinois University |
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101. Philip I. Levy Resident Scholar American Enterprise Institute |
102. Dean R. Lillard Senior Research Associate Department of Policy Analysis and Management Cornell University |
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103. Vernon L. Smith Economic Science Institute Chapman University |
104. Frank Falero Emeritus Professor of Economics California State University |
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105. Anthony T. Lo Sasso, Professor Division of Health Policy and Administration School of Public Health University of Illinois at Chicago |
106. Cory Krupp Associate Professor of the Practice Sanford School of Public Policy Duke University |
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107. Christopher J. Conover Research Scholar Center for Health Policy |
108. Mark Pingle Professor of Economics President, Entrepreneurship Nevada President, Society for the Advancement of Behavioral Economics Associate Editor, Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization Associate Editor, Journal of Socio-Economics University of Nevada, Reno |
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109. John P. Cochran Dean School of Business Professor of Economics Metropolitan State College of Denver |
110. Robert J. Rossana Professor of Economics Wayne State University |
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111. Robert D. Niehaus Principal Economist Robert D. Niehaus, Inc. |
112. Richard L. Gordon Professor Emeritus of Mineral Economics The Pennsylvania State University |
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113. Scott Harrington Professor of Health Care Management University of Pennsylvania |
114. Don Chance Flores Chair of MBA Studies Professor of Finance Louisiana State University |
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115. R. Richard Geddes Associate Professor Department of Policy Analysis & Management Cornell University |
116. Antony Davies Associate Professor of Economics Duquesne University |
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117. Stephen A. Tolbert, Jr. Lecturer of Economics, Montgomery County Community College Blue Bell, PA |
118. Thomas R. Saving University Distinguished Professor of Economics Texas A&M University |
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119. Larry Eubanks Associate Professor Department of Economics University of Colorado at Colorado Springs |
120. Nathan J. Ashby Assistant Professor of Economics University of Texas at El Paso |
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121. Jason E. Taylor Professor of Economics Central Michigan University |
122. C. Thomas Howard Professor, Reiman School of Finance Daniels College of Business University of Denver |
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123. Lawrence Southwick Associate Professor Emeritus University Research Scholar University at Buffalo |
124. Martin C. McGuire Emeritus Heinz Professor for Economics of Global Security University of California-Irvine |
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125. John Murray Professor of Economics University of Toledo |
126. King Banaian Professor Department of Economics St. Cloud State University |
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127. Ronnie H. Davis Vice President & Chief Economist Printing Industries of America |
128. DeVon L. Yoho Associate Professor of Economics Ball State University |
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129. William F. Shughart II F.A.P. Barnard Distinguished Professor Editor in Chief, Public Choice Senior Fellow, The Independent Institute President, Southern Economic Association The University of Mississippi Department of Economics |
130. Gerry L. Suchanek Department of Finance University of Iowa |
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131. Susan K. Feigenbaum Professor of Economics University of Missouri-St. Louis |
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