I tried not to laugh because I didn't want to hurt myself and have to pay for the medical cost.....

Well if you haven't heard or followed this, the US government is still dealing with the 'controversy' of the Affordable Health Care law. The Republicans want to get rid of it because they don't like it. But they have put this counter offer out. They are saying they will provide a $20,000 tax credit for families who buy insurance from specific companies and plans.

So lets do the numbers... The $20K is NOT $20K in your pocket but a deduction from taxable income. So...

If you are a family of four and earn $30,000 a year. You are entitled to standard deductions of $15,600 plus $7,800 for the two kids. $30,000 puts you in a 15% tax bracket and if you just subtract the standard deductions you would be liable for $1,000 on the $10,000 of taxable income.

Now apply the $20,000 added deduction and you get a balance of $0 in taxable income. You don't get the $20K in your pocket!!! The government does not give you more money than they take out, so the remainder of the tax break money doesn't do anything for you.

A health insurance plan for four people would cost anywhere from $400 to $1500 a month (depending on deductible, etc.). So the yearly cost would be between $4,800 to $18,000 a year. Of course you can't afford the $18,000 plan and the $4,800 is more than 16% of your gross yearly income.

You would have to earn more than $58,000 a year to get the cost of the cheapest plan back with the tax credit. The cheapest plan would still be about 10% of your net yearly pay, that is half the cost yearly housing expenses.

So how can anyone afford to pay out of pocket for health insurance and only off set the cost with a tax deduction??? This just shows how totally out of touch the Republicans are and how screwed up the US has become.