Uh-oh
The Supreme Court has ruled to uphold the individual mandate aspect of Obamacare -- the one aspect of it I found most troubling, as I don't think "lack of health insurance" should become a matter for law enforcement to handle.
I've heard justifications for the argument that boil down to "just in case" -- we must force healthy 20-somethings to buy private health insurance (or be fined) just in case they later get sick and cost taxpayers money. So, then, wouldn't it be just as justifiable to force poor pre-menopausal women to buy birth control (or be fined) just in case they later have a baby they can't afford, and cost taxpayers money? Force the low-income obese to lose weight (or pay a fine) just in case they develop diabetes on the taxpayers' dime?
This all sounds asinine, I know, but so does the idea that it's illegal for a farmer to grow his own wheat to feed to his own livestock. But -- as I pointed out last March -- I'm certain the bureaucrats charged with enforcing compliance will act with all the compassion and humanity that has made the American government so universally beloved and admired, these past ten years and more.
I've heard justifications for the argument that boil down to "just in case" -- we must force healthy 20-somethings to buy private health insurance (or be fined) just in case they later get sick and cost taxpayers money. So, then, wouldn't it be just as justifiable to force poor pre-menopausal women to buy birth control (or be fined) just in case they later have a baby they can't afford, and cost taxpayers money? Force the low-income obese to lose weight (or pay a fine) just in case they develop diabetes on the taxpayers' dime?
This all sounds asinine, I know, but so does the idea that it's illegal for a farmer to grow his own wheat to feed to his own livestock. But -- as I pointed out last March -- I'm certain the bureaucrats charged with enforcing compliance will act with all the compassion and humanity that has made the American government so universally beloved and admired, these past ten years and more.
posted by Jennifer Abel at 8:33 AM
2 Comments:
Hi there, GI!
(GI= government issue, aka government property, for those who don't know.)
I'm not particularly surprised by the Court's decision. It was long ago established that the government may force some to risk life and limb to serve and/or defend others at its sole discretion via the military draft. Today's decision concerning the healthcare mandate is explicit repudiation of the principle that we enjoy the rights to "life,liberty,and the pursuit of happiness" by virtue of having been born human beings - as a birthright. Now we are told we must pay a tax for simple permission to draw breath and that we exist only at the pleasure of the Congress. We are made chattel in our own land.
In the aggregate...oh commerce clause.
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