Can We Call It a Tax Now Since No One is Paying Attention?!?

The Obama Administration finds itself in court defending the recently-enacted healthcare legislation, on the basis that it amounts to a tax! This of course comes after months of denying that very same thing in public pronouncements leading up to the passage of the legislation.

"When Congress required most Americans to obtain health insurance or pay a penalty, Democrats denied that they were creating a new tax. But in court, the Obama administration and its allies now defend the requirement as an exercise of the government’s “power to lay and collect taxes.”

And that power, they say, is even more sweeping than the federal power to regulate interstate commerce.

Administration officials say the tax argument is a linchpin of their legal case in defense of the health care overhaul and its individual mandate, now being challenged in court by more than 20 states and several private organizations.

Under the legislation signed by President Obama in March, most Americans will have to maintain “minimum essential coverage” starting in 2014. Many people will be eligible for federal subsidies to help them pay premiums.

In a brief defending the law, the Justice Department says the requirement for people to carry insurance or pay the penalty is “a valid exercise” of Congress’s power to impose taxes."

It goes without saying to most readers that politicians are lying, hypocritical and duplicitous. All of those traits are on display here in embarrassing detail.

Whether the penalty that arises for failure to purchase the requisite amount of health insurance is a "tax" or simply a "penalty" is ultimately for the courts to decide. From my standpoint, I don't know that the difference is altogether that important.

The real issue is whether this tax or penalty is constitutional. As the Obama Administration readies for battle in court, it's worth keeping in mind that the federal government's allowable activities are expressly limited by the Constitution. Therefore, it will be no surprise if ultimately this legislation is thrown out on the basis of being unconstitutional and in violation of the 16th Amendment.

Free Health Care a Recipe for Insolvency

Although President Obama and his lackeys in Congress recently jammed through a Health Care bill that will nominally require all Americans to purchase health care insurance, the reality is that the federal government will continue to subsidize the premiums for a substantial percentage of the "insured" and the overall costs to the insurance companies and those that are paying their own premiums will skyrocket.

The problem, of course, is that people who have a medical ailment of any kind, will expect that all treatments and prescriptions are explored to return their health to a more optimal condition. These treatments and prescriptions obviously will be very expensive, and will lead to all sorts of fiscal issues for our country.

On a related note, an AP story this morning supports the idea that a lot of money spent on health care is currently being wasted.

"More medical care won't necessarily make you healthier — it may make you sicker. It's an idea that technology-loving Americans find hard to believe.

Anywhere from one-fifth to nearly one-third of the tests and treatments we get are estimated to be unnecessary, and avoidable care is costly in more ways than the bill: It may lead to dangerous side effects."

Practitioners preaching education for patients are quick to point out that they are not talking about limiting patient choices.

"This is not, I repeat not, rationing," said Dr. Steven Weinberger of the American College of Physicians, which this summer begins publishing recommendations on overused tests, starting with low back pain.

It's trying to strike a balance, to provide appropriate care rather than the most care. Rare are patients who recognize they've crossed that line.

There's no talk of watching one's diet and engaging in moderate, life-long exercise however, which are the two best things that people can do to maintain optimal health throughout their lives.

Forcing some people (through taxes, subsidies, etc.) to pay for another's health care is probably the main reason the US is quickly approaching fiscal doom.

Once people figure out that they can have all kinds of tests and medications prescribed for themselves and another person has to pay for it, expect demand for the former to increase substantially (even from its already-high level), and for the federal budget deficit and public debt to explode.

Democrats Plummeting in Polls

A CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll shows that Americans increasingly do not think Democrats are up to the task of fixing the economy.

"A CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Thursday indicates 48 percent of Americans say Republicans in Congress would do a better job dealing with the economy, compared to 45 percent for Democrats. That's a switch from last August, when Democrats held a 52 percent to 39 percent advantage on the economy."

Some of the decline of course can be attributed to the fact that Democrats now "own" the state of the economy, at least more so than when they originally took control of Congress and the White House.

But their declining poll results also have to be attributed to the policies they have enacted since taking office en masse, health care in particular. Voters know that the health care mandate is no panacea for a slumping economy, and will heap untold costs on companies that are forced to comply with its provisions.

Unfortunately however, voters think Republicans are potentially the answer to the country's economic woes.

Although some of the Republican policies are pro-growth and helpful, the only way to get back to a truly sound, thriving economy is by eschewing Republicans and Democrats alike and going with the freedom-loving, free market Libertarians (Ron Pauli in particular).

Health Care Tax Hike

As Congress moves forward with passing a massively unpopular health care bill, the tax hikes included in the current plan are becoming more apparent.

Fortune Magazine astutely points out a major change in how Medicare tax is now applied.

"Since its conception, the Medicare tax has always been tied to payrolls. Every paycheck, employers and employees each chip in 1.45%, regardless of how much someone makes. Under Obama's proposal -- which should be very close to what Congress winds up enacting -- a Medicare tax would now be applied to investment income too: Individuals who earn more than $200,000 and couples over $250,000 would pay an additional 2.9% surtax on unearned income from interest, dividends, annuities, royalties and rents."

For now, only a relatively few higher-income people will be subject to this new tax.

However, in future years as Congress determines that it needs more and more revenues to pay for this "deficit reducing" health care overhaul, that threshold will go down. That's how the game works.

Until the American people finally wake up and change the rules so that Congress and the people who elect them cannot keep stealing from hard-working Americans.