If they can force people to purchase health insurance or pay a fine, what is to stop them from forcing people to buy anything and set the fine at whatever they want? Example: Buy a $10,000 Rolex watch or pay a $5,000 fine.
yes government can force people to buy health insurance, just like government can force people to pay taxes, or children to attend elementary school.
No they cannot. They have the ability to levy taxes, which they did. Then offer you a credit against that tax if you do x (have insurance). You are not forced to buy anything.
In some narrow situation, yes. If the people are receiving "free" services as dictated by law and at the expense of the government, I think the government can force them to pay up or be fined.
In theory, the 10th Amendment limits the federal government to those powers enumerated in The Constitution. They could only do to us what the Constitution explicitly permitted. But for at least the past century, that principle has largely been ignored by judges. In practice, government power is only limited by what is explicitly forbidden in the constitution. If the government wants to pass a law saying how big your bed can be, you might think, "hey, where does The Constitution give them the power to do that?". You'd be wrong. Instead you would have to pass an amendment saying "Congress shall make no law restricting the size of beds." And the powers that be will laugh because there's still a million other things they can do to you.
This is the mindset of the left. All human activity is up for a vote, there is no individual choice (like say what type of health insurance you do/don't want to buy). If they like it, they mandate/subsidize it. If they don't like it, they tax/ban it. They can't just leave you alone.
That is only if you are driving on roads and it is to protect the other drivers. You are only required to have liability insurance.
That is the mindset of the right too. Think of all the corporate subsidies they support. And what is more onerous -- a mandate forcing you to buy healthcare or one that forces you to go fight in a war (the draft -- which, while it has not come up in a while, is not something the right has ever been against). And what about all the things they want to ban? Stem cell research, gay marriage, euthanasia, flag burning, mar1juana -- the list goes on .. and on and on and on. I'm not saying the Left is better mind you. But to act all high and mighty like the right are some sort of anti-government saints is disingenuous and wrong.
Then the left brings up the "general welfare" clause as a trump card to do anything they want. And my response is, if the founders meant for it to be a trump card to get away with anything, then why even write specific rules of the constitution in the first place? It doesn't make logical sense.
It depends on who you are talking about on the right. I'm a right winger, and I'm against corporate subsidies and the draft. I'm for stem cell research, gay marriage, flag burning, and mar1juana. And when I say "for", I mean that people should have the right to do it. Not that I personally believe in those things. Euthanasia is the only one that I'm unsure about.
That is very true. I'm on the left, but I'm anti-statist and I agree completely with your original post that questions how much preeminence and power the government has over individuals in this nation -- the healthcare mandate being an example of that. I don't support the Democrats though -- do you vote Republican? If not, awesome, we need more people like you in the nation who disagree with both parties and vote their conscience. If you do vote for that party that disagrees with you on so many issues and is just as bad about abusing government power as the Democrats, I have to ask -- why?
Uh no, they are trying to raise funding for authorized spending. When we mandated for emergency rooms having to service everyone, we indirectly forced costs up. When we allowed lobbyists to influence health policy, we created a social cost and indirectly forced costs up. ETC ETC ETC We sat on the problem and now its time to pay the piper. It sucks to be taxed, but when you call corporations people and allow all the pork into the legislation it doesn't just disappear. You would be better served to recognize the underlying problem rather than complaining about attempts to curtail it. Its happening again with Military spending. Vote to keep it now, expect to pay for it later.
Health care insurance is getting away with anything? Commodore is confirmed to constantly promote a 19th century society because he is apparently willfully ignorant to history or just doesnt give a damn. You too?
Correct...and requiring people to have health insurance protects everyone from having to pay the medical bills of a deadbeat idiot who refuses to carry insurance.
