The Chief Justice wrote, in the
opinion that supported the ObamaCare legislation, that:
"That Clause [the commerce clause] authorizes
Congress to regulate interstate commerce, not to order individuals to engage
it. In this case, however, it is reasonable to construe what Congress has
done as increasing taxes on those who have a certain amount of income, but
choose to go without health insurance. Such legislation is within Congress's
power to tax."
Never mind that no one is writing or voting for this
legislation thought they were drafting a part of the tax code. Apparently the intent of the drafters
was of zero consequence to the Chief Justice.
Now, those with the income to choose can either pay a
tax penalty or purchase a healthcare plan. It’s an ‘either – or’ tax: either buy (or do) what we want
or pay a penalty. Well, I must
admit that that is brilliant: we know that the government has used taxes to
alter (or try to alter) behavior: raise taxes on cigarettes to try and force
people to smoke less, for example.
There are those who object to such actions, but the Supreme Court has
now signaled that that is legitimate legislation: Congress is free to pass legislation
to use penalties (now called taxes) to force behavior on those who can’t afford
the penalty.
Where does this lead? Well, first, it means the government can force the citizenry
to buy things the government feels we should be buying: “Buy a Chevy Volt or
pay a tax.” But, more to the
point, it can, through ever-higher taxes, simply force certain behavior on
“those who have a certain amount of income” by slowly ratcheting up the “tax”
on non-compliance. “Buy a Chevy
Volt or pay a tax” eventually becomes “Buy a Chevy Volt or pay a $100,000 tax.”
Secondly, beginning in 2015 (one year into the full
enactment of the law) the “tax” penalty will start to climb, forcing more and
more businesses to buy the healthcare insurance. What will follow?
The insurance costs will increase, as will healthcare costs, as more and
more government mandated funds become available for the healthcare industry,
with rapidly decreasing market forces to keep costs in check. (Don’t think so? Look what happened to medical costs
since Medicare, or education costs since the creation of the Department of
Education.) True private
healthcare will be a thing of the past by the mid 2020s, and healthcare costs
will soar, as there will be no reason to hold costs in check. (Eventually, this will cause a reflex
response by the same government, resulting in the very close, very real
rationing of healthcare by the same accountants and bureaucrats.)
Third, the government, in the form of the
bureaucracies that make up the executive branch, is now free to use the “power
to tax” to force virtually any form of behavior modification on anyone, all in
the name of taxation. Want those
pesky citizens to do something?
Easy, “tax” them for non-compliance. Solar panels on houses or pay a penalty, drink fewer sodas
or pay a penalty, get your body mass index below a certain number of pay a
penalty, have fewer than four children or pay a penalty. Hey, come-on, it’s just a tax and
that’s ok, Chief Justice Roberts said so.
Truly, the power to tax is the
power to destroy.
I’m headed to my accountant for
my back pain.
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