As Obamacare Goes, So Goes The Intrusive Federal Government
Liberals, believe it or not, are worrying their pretty little pinko heads off. Why? Well because the fate of Obamacare is off and running in the courts. Further they are worried because a lot of states are up in arms and regardless of what the courts decide are preparing to nullify the whole shebang within their own borders under the authority of the Tenth Amendment.
Liberals, believe it or not, are worrying their pretty little pinko heads off. Why? Well because the fate of Obamacare is off and running in the courts. Further they are worried because a lot of states are up in arms and regardless of what the courts decide are preparing to nullify the whole shebang within their own borders under the authority of the Tenth Amendment.
In an era where worries about larger and larger federal government rolls forth from the brains of Americans like water off a duck’s back, no other single government initiative has stoked so much anger. Not even TARP and the other various government backed bailouts have caused the sort of outrage federally socialized medicine has. And that is saying something.
Don’t ask me to explain why, finally, the American public has as a whole found an intrusive government program that it does not like. Even though it has been a long time coming, I simply cannot explain why this one is any more hideous than anything else the federal government has heaped upon us over the years. But the people are finally mad. That is a good thing. And I will gladly take it.
While Obamacare is the crown jewel of liberals they are though still fretting about it and the inevitable court battle to come. They fear this because that battle hinges on essentially a singular argument which would be the seed of the welfare state’s undoing if the courts agree. The basic argument is that Obamacare exceeds federal power because it requires the American citizens to buy a good or service.
Now you and I both know that government does not have this power. But liberals to this day are bound and determined to convince us that it does. However if the courts disagree with the left and side with our Constitution and the people, a hit or miss proposition in these perilous times, not only is Obamacare undone but so too will be a century of progressive socialism.
If Obamacare is found to exceed federal mandates based on the correct reasoning that the federal government does not have the authority to force the American people to buy a particular good or service think about all that will crumble. Social Security for one would turn to dust nearly overnight. Government has been taxing Americans for years and forcing us to buy into a particular retirement plan that they control and which contains no guarantee of repayment. Even though the courts have previously, persistently and incorrectly ruled that Social Security is Constitutional, exactly how will Social Security stand up if Obamacare falls? Answer: It won’t.
Medicare is another program similar to Social Security. Workers are forced to buy into a government approved insurance program every payday again without any guarantee of repayment. Do you see where this government welfare program is headed too if Obamacre falls?
Heck, even the recent Congressional ban on incandescent light bulbs in favor of CFLs would be undone since that legislation pushes Americans to buy a particular product.
A lot of people do not understand this though. For example, a liberal acquaintance of mine who normally loves everything the federal government does, even when said things exceed the Constitution, is very opposed to Obamacare. She wants to see it undone in the worst way. The reason she wants to see it undone is because years ago she watched her husband suffer in the anemic VA Hospital system (a government run system mind you) and does not want to see her own healthcare deteriorate to that condition.
Now all of a sudden she has found religion. She is adamantly against Obamacare because she says that she should not be forced to buy into government health insurance. However when I asked her if she would support my right to opt out of the government retirement insurance plan of Social Security and neither pay into the program nor withdraw from it, her eyes glazed over. She could not muster a single neuron to fire and make the obvious connection I was pointing out to her. No doubt this is because she is currently drawing a paycheck from the aforementioned program and all too aware that if I and others began to opt out then her ability to get that check would be seriously hampered.
Oh I don't doubt that if the courts rule Obamacare unconstitutional that there will be a lot of spinning by liberals to separate government mandated health care from government mandated retirement and old age medical plans. But they would be disingenuous. And if they get the courts to contradict themselves while ruling Obamacare illegal but Social Security and Medicare legal well, like I said at the open of this article, there are a lot of states awakening to the concept of nullification these days.
J.J. Jackson is a libertarian conservative author from Pittsburgh, PA who has been writing and promoting individual liberty since 1993 and is President of Land of the Free Studios, Inc. He is the Pittsburgh Conservative Examiner for Examiner.com. He is also the owner of The Right Things - Conservative T-shirts & Gifts http://www.cafepress.com/rightthings. His weekly commentary along with exclusives not available anywhere else can be found at http://www.libertyreborn.com
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