Quantum Windbag
Gold Member
- May 9, 2010
- 58,308
- 5,099
- 245
The mandate is not a tax. Sorry.
Everyone who wants to tell me that this is a tax (you know who you are) and that it is justified under the power Congress has to impose taxes, but every single judge that has ruled on Obamacare has agreed on that single issue.
The Individual Mandate
Everyone who wants to tell me that this is a tax (you know who you are) and that it is justified under the power Congress has to impose taxes, but every single judge that has ruled on Obamacare has agreed on that single issue.
The federal government keeps arguing that the individual mandate to purchase health insurance in last years health care law is constitutional because its a tax. Judges, even those whove ruled in favor of the mandates constitutionality, keep disagreeing with them. Every single one of the decisions related to the constitutionality of the mandate has affirmed that, despite the governments arguments to the contrary, the mandate is not a taxand therefore cannot be constitutionally justified by Congresss taxing power.
Despite giving the mandate a stamp of approval, yesterdays 6th Circuit ruling agreed on the tax issue. The distinction is important: Taxes are primarily designed to bring the government tax revenue. But the Obama administrations legal position is that the portion of the mandate that counts as a tax is the penalty paid by those who fail to comply. The mandates penalty functions primarily as a regulation: Its intended to control behavior, not raise money.
The Individual Mandate