JOHN LINDER: “Let me just address an issue you raised that is kind of interesting and it is a bit arcane. Health care. We made a…”

“Let me just address an issue you raised that is kind of interesting and it is a bit arcane. Health care. We made a decision in the 1940s to allow corporations to deduct health care insurance and not have it treated as income to the employees, and so the first dollar of third-party coverage has really caused the abuse of the system. I was with a corporation where we had a huge health care debate in 1994, and they proudly told me that they spend $1,000 per employee per month on the health care. I said, ``You ought to be ashamed of that.'' Because they were funding everything from fertility treatments to the grave, and hair transplants and everything in between. Under our system, that benefit, the value of that premium would be taxed as a personal consumption. And if I worked for that company that was spending $1,000 a month for me, I would start saying, ``I do not need that fertility treatment or hair transplant. I do not need AIDS coverage. I want this, this, and this, and I am willing to pay the tax on the provision of those services.'' And then I think we would have, for the first time since 1946 or 1947, American citizens shopping for and selecting their coverage benefits, and they would bring some sanity to the health care world.”