A new report by the Congressional Budget Office shows that nearly 6 million  Americans will face an average tax penalty of $1,200 under President Barack  Obama’s Affordable Care Act, far more than originally estimated. Most of those  hit by the tax are middle-income citizens, individuals earning $55,850 or less  and families with income of $115,250 or less.

That’s a black eye for the president, who promised not to raise taxes on any  individual earning less than $200,000. What’s even more notable is the  administration’s nonsensical response to the report.

Erin Shields Britt of the Health and Human Services Department told The  Associated Press the tax penalty applies only to those who refuse to buy health  insurance but who can afford it. “We’re no longer going to subsidize the care of  those who can afford to buy insurance but make a choice not to buy it,” Britt  said.

That’s nonsense. Obamacare doesn’t end the subsidizing of health care; it  expands it, which is why the program’s cost is so significant. When  Obamacare passed, it was estimated that nearly half of the newly insured would  be covered through an expansion of Medicaid. Those added to that state-federal  program will be subsidized with taxes.

More.