The decision by the Supreme Court to uphold the Obamacare
mandate requiring everyone purchase health insurance or be fined by the
government set up a dangerous precedent.
Even though the law does not directly order individuals to purchase
insurance, it indirectly does so by forcing those deciding not to purchase
insurance to pay a fine on their tax return.
People work hard for their money and other than the taxes withheld from
their paychecks, should be free to spend their remaining income as they
please. It is unconstitutional to force
Americans to purchase something they do not want.
So exactly how did the Supreme Court justify this
unconstitutional mandate? Article 1
Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution gives Congress the authority to levy and
collect taxes. (1)
Justice Roberts surprisingly went along with the four liberal Justices on the
Supreme Court by claiming he saw the mandate as the levying of a tax by Congress
since the IRS levies the fine on people’s tax return. (2)
However, the court ruling did leave a backdoor way to avoid the mandate by
allowing states to opt out of the setting up insurance exchanges mandated under
the law. (2)
However, this does not change the dangerous precedent established that the
Congress can now mandate people purchase something they do not want through the
backdoor by fining them on their tax return if they do not buy it.
The entire reason Congress included this unconstitutional
mandate is because Obamacare has a funding problem and needs healthy people to
contribute in order to pay for medical care for those needing it. This is because the law mandates that
insurance providers cover preexisting conditions. (3)
In other words, someone that is
diagnosed with a serious medical condition can purchase a policy the day after
being diagnosed and the insurance provider is required to provide him or her
coverage. By fining individuals that
choose not to purchase health insurance, lawmakers believe they can close this
funding gap. However, by leaving a
backdoor for states to opt out of establishing insurance exchanges, the Federal
Government will have to fund these exchanges thus adding to the cost of
Obamacare.
The Obamacare mandate also gives the IRS more power since it
will require everyone filing a 1040 to provide proof of coverage in order to
avoid paying a fine. The IRS already
makes everyone provide information on their income and the names and Social
Security numbers of themselves, their spouses, and all of their
dependents. Now we have opened the door
to having to provide the IRS information about our health. This concerns many in light of the current
IRS scandal where the IRS routinely targeted certain groups due to their
political and religious beliefs. (4) (5)
However, Obamacare is not the only mandate citizens need to
be concerned about. In the name of green
energy, Congress has mandated the replacement of safe and affordable
incandescent light bulbs with potentially hazardous CFL bulbs. (6)
In addition, the government is in our bathrooms regulating the gallons per
flush in our flush toilets. (7) The government even
mandates the cars we drive through fuel efficiency standards placed on auto
manufacturers that have resulted in them making lighter weight and automobiles
that are more dangerous. (8) (9)
Sometimes it seems that politicians like these mandates
because they give them greater control over the lives of citizens. However, if a politician were to just come
out and say that, he would be run out of office. No these deceptive politicians claim that
these mandates are in our best interests.
They are so concerned that we all be able to get health care when we
need it and if we just leave it in their hands, we do not have to worry for
they have it under control.
They tell us our light bulbs are harming the environment so
we must replace our inefficient incandescent bulbs with more dangerous CFL
bulbs to save the planet. They tell us
our flush toilets are wasting precious water and that we need to replace them
with toilets that use less water. Of
course they ignore the fact that all people do is flush twice so we must ask,
are we really saving water? They
convince us that our big safe cars are harming the environment and that we need
to endanger the lives of our families and ourselves by driving around in
lighter weight less save vehicles. Of
course we are convinced that we will be safe because we are surrounded with air
bags.
With Obamacare, the fine levied on individual tax returns
amounts to a wealth transfer through the tax code. The employer mandate is also going to result
in layoffs and the cutting of hours as employers struggle to stay in
business. (10)
(11)
In addition, companies with fewer than 50 employees are discouraged from
expanding because they may go over the 50-employee minimum and be required to
comply with the Obamacare mandates. (12)
As we can see, eliminating these onerous mandates is
crucial. These mandates endanger the
economy and the safety of individuals and their families. These mandates are the result of legislation
as is the case with Obamacare and executive orders as is the case with many EPA
regulations. Since Congress can repeal
legislation and the President can rescind executive orders, can we now see the
importance of elections? We must have
more conservatives in both houses of Congress and a conservative in the White
House and begin unraveling this web of mandates.
We must also urge our state legislatures and governors to
begin resisting mandates placed on them by the leviathan of the Federal
Government. The Supreme Court left the
door open for states to fight Obamacare by refusing to set up state
exchanges.
Mandates are a threat to our liberties. We all work hard for our money and have the
right to determine how we spend it. However, mandates are determining what kind of
light bulb we buy, how much water we can use when we flush our toilets, and
what kind of car we drive. Obamacare
takes it one-step further by requiring individuals to purchase health insurance
even if they do not want it or face a fine on their tax return. Liberty is not saved by more government but
by smaller less intrusive government. It
is time for conservatives to do more than talk, it is time for us to take
action these next two elections and elect officials to office that will resist
and reverse mandates.
1. Hillsdale College. The Constitution of the
United States of America. [book auth.] Hillsdale College. The U.S.
Constitution: A Reader. Hillsdale MI : Hillsdale College Press, 2012.
2. Radnofsky, Jess
Bravin and Louise. Court Backs Obama on Health Law. online.wsj.com. [Online]
The Wall Street Journal, June 29, 2012 . [Cited: July 20, 2013.]
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304898704577480371370927862.html?mod=e2tw.
3. Torrey, Trisha.
Pre-Existing Conditions and the Affordable Care Act. patients.about.com. [Online]
About.com, March 2013. [Cited: July 20, 2013.]
http://patients.about.com/od/AffordableCareAct/a/Pre-Existing-Conditions-And-The-Affordable-Care-Act.htm.
4. Jones, Susan.
IG: IRS Targeted 100% With 'Tea Party' in Name; 30% With 'Progress' or
'Progressive' - See more at:
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/ig-irs-targeted-100-tea-party-name-30-progress-or-progressive#sthash.T2Z7b1RT.dpuf.
cnsnews.com. [Online] CNS News, June 27, 2013. [Cited: July 20, 2013.]
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/ig-irs-targeted-100-tea-party-name-30-progress-or-progressive.
5. Heine, Debra.
IRS Audited Some Churches For 'Being Political' While Others Were Encouraged To
Be So. www.breitbart.com. [Online] Breitbart, June 15, 2013. [Cited:
June 18, 2013.]
http://www.breitbart.com/InstaBlog/2013/06/15/IRS-Audited-Some-Churches-For-Being-Political-While-Others-Were-Encouraged-To-Be-So.
6. Joseph, Dan.
Expert Warns of Health Risks Associated With New Light Bulbs - See more at:
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/expert-warns-health-risks-associated-new-light-bulbs#sthash.mfJYtsjn.dpuf.
cnsnews.com. [Online] CNS News, March 11, 2011. [Cited: July 20, 2013.] http://cnsnews.com/news/article/expert-warns-health-risks-associated-new-light-bulbs.
7. WaterSense.
Water - Efficient Toilets. www.epa.gov. [Online] United States
Environmental Protection Agency. [Cited: July 20, 2013.]
http://www.epa.gov/WaterSense/products/toilets.html.
8. Eilperin, Juliet.
EPA issues new fuel-efficiency standard; Autos must average 54.5 mpg by 2025. articles.washingtonpost.com.
[Online] The Washington Post, August 28, 2012. [Cited: July 20, 2013.]
http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2012-08-28/national/35490347_1_fuel-efficiency-fuel-standards-vehicle-fuel-efficiency-standards.
9. Bell, Larry.
New Auto Fuel Economy Standards Will Regulate Us To Death. www.forbes.com. [Online]
Forbes, August 16, 2011. [Cited: July 20, 2013.] http://www.forbes.com/sites/larrybell/2011/08/16/new-auto-fuel-economy-standards-will-regulate-us-to-death/.
10. Book, Robert.
Why Obamacare Incentivizes Part-Time Jobs. www.forbes.com. [Online]
Forbes, December 3, 2012. [Cited: July 2013, 2013.] http://www.forbes.com/sites/aroy/2012/12/03/why-obamacare-incentivizes-part-time-jobs/.
11. Tennant,
Michael. Small Businesses Cutting Jobs, Hours to Save Themselves From
ObamaCare. www.thenewamerican.com. [Online] NewAmerican, June 23, 2013.
[Cited: July 20, 2013.] http://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/health-care/item/15785-small-businesses-cutting-jobs-hours-to-save-themselves-from-obamacare.
12. Sherk, James.
Obamacare No Prescription for Hiring. www.nationalreview.com. [Online]
National Review, July 20, 2011. [Cited: July 20, 2013.]
http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/272342/obamacare-no-prescription-hiring-james-sherk.
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