McCain Campaign Press Release - "In Case You Missed It": Sicko II

"For all the media handwringing about John McCain's supposedly dishonorable campaign, little mentioned is how dishonest Barack Obama's fusillade against his opponent's health-care plan really is. The latest case in point: Yesterday in Harrisonburg, Virginia, Mr. Obama distorted a comment from Mr. McCain's chief economic advisor beyond recognition." --The Wall Street Journal's Joseph Rago

"Sicko II"

By Joseph Rago

The Wall Street Journal's "Political Diary"

October 29, 2008

For all the media handwringing about John McCain's supposedly dishonorable campaign, little mentioned is how dishonest Barack Obama's fusillade against his opponent's health-care plan really is. The latest case in point: Yesterday in Harrisonburg, Virginia, Mr. Obama distorted a comment from Mr. McCain's chief economic advisor beyond recognition.

In an interview with CNN Money, Doug Holtz-Eakin said many younger workers wouldn't have an incentive to dump job-based health insurance even if they received a $5,000 tax credit for personal insurance under the McCain plan. "Why would they leave?" Mr. Holtz-Eakin said. "What they are getting from their employer is way better than what they could get with the credit."

Mr. Obama called this "an October surprise" that "health care" will be worse "if John McCain becomes president."

For the record, Mr. Holtz-Eakin noted via email that he was making an obvious point, that people won't drop their current coverage if it works well. Employers will still need to design compensation packages to attract employees, many of which will continue to include health care. The McCain plan merely creates new options, especially for those who are uninsured now.

In any case, Mr. Obama's attack is only intelligible if you believe health insurance is "free" when obtained through a business. Of course, it's far from free -- employees pay for their health care in the form of reduced cash wages. Indeed, when economists complain about "stagnant wages" for the middle class, they are really complaining that the increasing cost of health insurance has steadily eaten up what would otherwise be visible increases in worker pay.

Mr. Obama repeatedly charges that Mr. McCain would "only give your family a $5,000 tax credit when the average plan costs over $12,000." He pretends here that employees aren't indirectly paying for their health care coverage by reduced cash wages. In reality, an employer who didn't offer health care would still have to offer competitive wages to attract workers. Mr. Obama and his policy advisers are economic sophisticates and surely know they're bending the truth. But don't expect the press to mention it.