Rambling thoughts on the SCOTUS decision regarding Obama Care.

I understand the decision in the Obama Care case and of course like most I am disappointed.  Chief Justice Roberts in what is appearing to look like a last minute decision switched his vote to support the bill based on the fact that the government successfully argued that the mandate was simply a tax, that could be paid directly to a third party insurer in lieu of the government.

So, when do we get to start purchasing social security annuities with our money in lieu of paying that tax.

I thought the purpose of this was to distribute the cost more equitably since the tax payer is the one footing the bill under the previous system. If the mandate is a tax, that means that the tax payer is being assessed a dedicated tax to pay for increase benefits. How is this protecting the tax payer. The mandate is just another tax, as  the government successfully argued, but this tax is levied against the tax payers so that the taxes the tax  payer already pays do not have to be used to pay the medical costs of those that don’t pay their medical bills including the additional costs of providing additional services that the tax payer wasn’t paying for before this new tax. If the Romney campaign can’t do something with that logic, they don’t deserve to win.

This decision by the Chief Justice has wide ranging impact. But the most important impact to me is that he makes it clear that the federal government can tax anything for any reason, directly equating the vice taxes on cigarettes and alcohol with the mandate.  Given this administration’s environmental stand it would seem logical that should include things like a tax on any car that uses gas, based on the amount of gas it might consume. Allowing them to collect lots of tax for gas guzzling SUVs while given credits to all electric cars.

They could even charge a tax on the air we breath, since some in the administration think breathing is a toxic pollutant.

I hope that this nation wakes up from this progressive socialist nightmare and sets about eliminating the democrats from Washington. I just don’t have a lot of confidence that the Republicans will act any smarter tomorrow then the have through today. Listening to a national radio show today I heard a “conservative leader” explain that some features are popular with the public. Maybe be some parts of the public, those that don’t pay for health care now. What features are popular with the public? In fact, I don’t think anyone likes anything about this bill who currently pays insurance and taxes. Of course there are people who don’t pay either, they probably love it, but they won’t vote Republican anyway. But can we trust the Republicans not to pander to groups that won’t support them no matter what they do? Of course not.

There is only one way to end this lunacy in Washington. Chief Justice Roberts made two things clear. One, the federal government can tax anyone for anything. Two, that is a political problem.

So I ask you, why did the founders give the federal government that power? The answer is, they did not. That was a gift of the pro-socialist movement of 100 years ago  that elected the first Progressive President, another academic, Woodrow Wilson. What Chief Justice Roberts said, is, as long as the 16th amendment gives the power to congress to tax individuals directly, they do anything they want with that power.

Is our only option if we want to restore federalist ideals to vote someone else in that we hope will act with greater restraint? Why not eliminate the problem,  we could repeal the 16th amendment. Thus eliminating the power of Congress to directly tax and returning that power to the states. Think of it this way. This power is like a dangerous weapon, every once in a while we elect a megalomaniac that wants to take the weapon out and threaten the liberty of the people with it to advance his personal power. Then we vote someone else in that locks the weapon up in a vault but doesn’t destroy it.  Because although they are more restrained, they want the power it offers. Sooner or later another megalomaniac will get elected and open the vault again. Doesn’t it make more sense to destroy the threat rather than hope the next guy (or gal) is self constrained?

Personally I think there are enough angry people in the country right now that we could get this done. Republican’s could not,  because not everyone that is angry is a Republican. Plenty of progressives are angry too. They are looking at this abomination of a bill and realize that they could do so much better if they just handled it themselves. I am sure that Pelosi’s supporters would do better if they got Sacremento to run the program. What do they care about Texas? Well, I mean other than the fact that they are penniless beggars on crack financially what do they care about the kind of health care in Texas?

A smart Tea Party or Traditionalist could step up on the national stage and lead the fight to repeal the 16th and 17th amendments, restoring power to the states on the basis that everyone, conservative, independent and progressive would be better off if they held the purse strings closer to home. The problem isn’t the vast differences between us, but that everything goes through Washington. Who benefits by sending our money to Washington so that 537 egomaniacs can decide what is best for us?

After all, as Obama said, it wasn’t the politically smart thing to do, but it was in his opinion the right thing to do. Great, in his vast experience as a successful candidate for office he has accumulated more knowledge than the hundreds of millions of Americans that elected him to think for them? The shear arrogance of that statement is proof he is unqualified to make that decision for many if not all. That is of course if he had anything to do with crafting the legislation other than signing it.  But now that it passed the supreme court by making it a test, he wants credit for doing something to the country that in his mind was the right thing to do. Spiking the ball again for something someone else did that succeeded.

The right thing to do is to take away the credit card and make these people in Washington work for us again. That is what I think is right for the country.