Obamacare

[BrianR]

I'm on Fred's side on this. The Congress has been abusing the heck out of the commerce clause ever since Teddy Roosevelt's administration. Back then, the Supreme Court sharply limited the government's power. Since then, every President has packed the Court with as many appointees as he could, tilting the Court ever more toward an activist Court which has granted more and more power to the Congress and President. There is an excellent article on this subject here.

I, too, want everyone to have health insurance. But I would much rather see everyone get it through their job, rather than forced upon them. Unlike Fred, I have to pay for mine every month but I have a really low bill and a decent company stemming from my days in the service. So, unless I am REALLY broke, I will always have it. It isn't perfect but it does what we need it to do most of the time so I cannot complain.

The thing is, it's the principle, darnit! Giving the government such broad powers is foolish in the extreme. They can do much more than take a penalty out of your tax return. They can reach into your bank account and take money out, too. Think of what a $500 bite would do to your household budget. Or even $100. They could also monitor your spending. There are many things to dislike about that bill. But there is no guarantee on how the Court will rule.

I strongly suspect the Supreme Court will rule only narrowly on the Individual Mandate portion and leave stand the rest of the bill. I might be wrong but this Court is not the Court of a century ago. It is rare that the SC does NOT cede more power to the government.

I certainly hope, for America's sake, that the entire bill is struck down.