Fact Check: It depends on what your definition of a "tax" is...
By John Hanlon on health care reform
AIP Blog
During President Obama's appearances on the Sunday morning talk shows, he sought to advance his health care agenda amongst other things. One of his greatest obstacles in those appearances though came not from a host's frustrations with him or a tough question. It came from a quotation used by the host of ABC's "This Week" George Stephanopoulos. The quotation that Stephanopoulos used to partially stump Obama came not from a right wing website or a conservative talk show host or a book criticizing the 44th president of the United States. The quotation came from a dictionary and it was the definition of the word tax that seemed to push President Obama off his game.
Stephanopoulos recalled the contentious exchange in a new piece on the ABC News blog that features the transcript of the encounter. When Stephanopoulos said that forcing people to buy insurance or charging them a "fee" could be considered a tax increase, President Obama replied that "No, but -- but, George, you -- you can't just make up that language and decide that that's called a tax increase." A few seconds later, the show host replied that "I -- I don't think I'm making it up. Merriam Webster's Dictionary: Tax -- 'a charge, usually of money, imposed by authority on persons or property for public purposes.' " Then, instead of responding to that dictionary definition, President Obama reflected on the fact that Stephanopoulos had to use a dictionary to look up that definition. Obama stated that "George, the fact that you looked up Merriam's Dictionary, the definition of tax increase, indicates to me that you're stretching a little bit right now. Otherwise, you wouldn't have gone to the dictionary to check on the definition."
I quote from this exchange from Stephanopoulos' blog because it provides an interesting analysis of our 44th president. Instead of arguing with the definition of the word tax here, the president slightly mocked Stephanopoulos for using a dictionary to get an accurate account of what a tax is. Some may say that this is an argument about semantics and the use of certain words over other words. (For instance, is a fee for using a public facility considered a tax? Is a fee for getting a fishing license a tax?) However, I think Stephanopoulos raised a good point here. President Obama made certain pledges on the campaign trail about not raising taxes on the middle class. Now, in a health care plan, President Obama may force individuals to pay the government money if they do not get health care. Is that a tax? According to the Merriam Webster definition, it seems to be, and that was the point that Stephanopoulos was trying to make.
Whether it is a tax or it is not a tax may be a moot point to some in the Beltway but to people in the middle class who may have to pay more if liberal health care reform passes, it likely is not such a moot point.
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