Blue-Collar Botox
by Jeanette: MyFreeImplants on December 6th, 2009The proposed 5% cosmetic surgery tax on the upcoming health care reform bill is not only angering plastic surgeons, but is also being criticized as gender-biased and discriminatory.
The tax, referred to as “Botax,” might be detrimental to the working class, an estimated 70 percent of the population who classify as cosmetic surgery consumers. In addition, an estimated 86 % of cosmetic surgery patients are female, 91 % of which are between the working ages of 19-64.
Laurie Essig, Assistant Professor of Sociology and Women’s & Gender Studies at Middlebury College, comments on the potential dangers of “Botax” on working and lower-middle classes in her blog, regarding the tax as “highly regressive” for working-class women.
Calling it a “Soccer Mom” tax, President of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) Dr. Renato Saltz, says the tax will adversely impact mainstream American wives and mothers, who are the majority of plastic surgery patients.
Speaking for the cosmetic surgery industry he adds, “As doctors, we understand and appreciate the need for health care reform, but taxing physicians and cosmetic surgery procedures to pay for the reform is not realistic or beneficial.”
The last thing we need is a tax that is unfair to women and unfair to the working class, two groups traditionally underrepresented in society. The proposed “Botax” is indeed regressive, and appears to be detrimental for all parties involved.
December 7th, 2009 at 5:37 pm
Grrrrrr, don’t even get me started….so frustrating. It seems the counterproductive route is almost always the bureaucratic route. I don’t think the proposal will go far, but that depends on who carries the most weight in the voting booths. Ever wonder why old people who shouldn’t be driving, still have their licenses and are not required to take another test? Those ornery old bastards vote and have moolah, thus the influence.
December 8th, 2009 at 12:03 am
Today I received the following email from my plastic surgeon. I had no idea this was going on, and I think there are probably a lot of women on MFI that are as clueless about this as I was. I am not a political person. I do not follow typically follow political bills, even ones that may effect me. But I think that this is different. Because this effects every woman here, and I know how hard we all work. I hope that you find this useful, and I hope the ladies and the bennes on the site will do whatever they can to help!I know that if we stand together as a group, we really can fight this. And what better group to reach out to than those it directly effects?
Dear Emily,
I am writing you as your help is needed now, possibly before January 1, 2010 to help STOP the COSMETIC TAX. It is currently being discussed in the U.S. Senate and it is important that you contact your Senator by simply calling the toll free phone number below and they will connect you directly with your senators.
You can easily voice your opposition to a tax that again HITS the Middle Class the hardest as the working middle class is the largest consumer of Cosmetic Procedures. It also violates patient privacy as your records can be open to tax auditors; and it discriminates against women as women purchase the greatest number of cosmetic procedures.
YOU, the consumer, are the target of this tax, not the doctors, as we will only have to collect the tax and give it to the government.
Call toll free: 1-877-221-8207 NOW
It takes only about 2 minutes. This number is offered by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.
Thank you for your time..
Sincerely,
Dr. Hynes and Staff
Hynes Plastic Surgery Center, P.C.
I have not done this yet, so I can’t tell you if it is fast or easy, but I can tell you it’s important. Pass this along. Repost it if you want. We need to get the word out! We need our voices to be heard.
Thanks for reading. Thanks for caring. And good luck to every single woman here. I know how hard you’re all working!
XOXO
Emily
December 10th, 2009 at 11:02 am
[...] with it already, the new health care reform bill to be passed in 2010 includes the addition of a 5% tax on all cosmetic surgery procedures, excluding those considered medically necessary. Most plastic [...]