Meet The Press' David Gregory Falsely Claims All American Workers Will See Medicare Tax Increase

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Meet The Press' David Gregory Falsely Claims All American Workers Will See Medicare Tax Increase As A Result Of Health Care Reform

Meet The Press host David Gregory misrepresented the Affordable Care Act's "medicare surtax" to suggest that it will be felt by "anybody who gets a paycheck in this country," though the provisions will only affect individuals with an annual income above $200,000.

Beginning with 2013 tax returns, new tax provisions included in the Affordable Care Act will begin to take effect. Though most Americans will only see a tax increase if they decide to forgo health coverage, some changes designed to increase fairness in Medicare funding will begin to affect the wealthiest Americans.

Gregory misled about this change during a discussion about the Affordable Care Act implementation process on the July 7 edition of NBC's Meet the Press. He noted that while he didn't understand all the "ins and outs" of the healthcare law, its Medicare tax increases were one thing that would be apparent to all working Americans on their paychecks.

Gregory's claim failed to recognize that both of the healthcare law's Medicare tax increases affect only the wealthiest of Americans. A 0.9 percent Medicare payroll tax increase will apply to individual earners whose annual income exceeds $200,000 or households earning more than $250,000 - a group representing only 4.2 percent of taxpayers. An additional 3.8 percent tax will apply to the investment income of some Americans. As Forbes noted, "for individuals who have little or no net investment income, their 3.8% Medicare Surtax will be minimal if not zero."

http://mediamatters.org/blog/2013/07/07/meet-the-press-david-gregory-falsely-claims-all/194751

[GreatCaesarsGhost]

1. you'd think that someone who has a one-hour show

once a week would be prepared. the question is - is he just ignorant or intentionally misleading?

probably both.

[sabrina 1]

2. Isn't he a hero with the pro-Surveillance State contingency?

At least he was last week when he proposed the prosecution of journalists, in the form of a question of course.

But now he has attacked Obama's HC Bill? There will be whip lash trying to turn back from bestowing hero status on him to throwing him under the bus.

I am looking forward either to the conspicuous absence of his sudden fan club or some pretzel-like squirming to try to defend yet condemn him.

This will be hard for the pro-Gregory contingency, so I'm betting on 'conspicuous absence'!

I hate to say to them 'we told you so'.