Dem lawmaker's plan would scrap current tax, health systems

The U.S. should essentially abandon its current healthcare and taxation systems in favor of entirely new infrastructures, one Democratic lawmaker said Tuesday.

Rep. Brian Baird (D-Wash.) called for drastic reforms to the health and tax systems in the country, calling for a dissolution of current government-run healthcare programs in favor of a single program open to all Americans in need. The congressman also called for the elimination of the income tax, in favor of a national, progressive sales tax.

"Instead of duct taping the problems, and locking us into a poorly structured system, we need to explore new ideas that will create real, lasting reform," Baird said, adding: "Any discussion of real health reform should ideally be done in the context of remaking the federal tax code."

Baird was elected to Congress in 1998, but has occasionally served as a thorn in his party leadership's side. He joined Republican colleagues in the House most recently to support a provision mandating a 72-hour period for legislation to be posted online before lawmakers vote on it.

The congressman characterized his proposal as the most efficient and responsible way to overhaul both the nation's tax and health systems.

"By adopting both health care and tax reform together, we will enact real reform that will benefit every American, and set our nation on a fiscally responsible course that will better manage the deficit and debt," he said. "This plan offers a cure, instead of only treating the symptoms of one of the longest standing and most debilitating of all government ailments.”