“No branch of Government may compel any Citizen to participate in Commerce, nor may any Citizen be penalized or taxed for choosing not to participate in Commerce.”

That’s my humble submission for a new Constitutional Amendment.

It’s not much; then again, a wise Government teacher once said that when it comes to the Constitution, the less wordy an amendment is, the better.

I’m not a lawyer, so I don’t know if something this simple would pass Constitutional muster, but it seems to me that something along these lines could sail through Congress – and then every State Legistlature – without much fuss at all.

It doesn’t appear to be objectionable in any way, shape, or form, and it would seem to protect every person in this country from governmental overreach.
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In reading over the Supreme Court’s ruling on Obamacare, one statement in one of the rulings*** stood out among all of the rest:

…..it is abundantly clear the Constitution does not guarantee that individuals may avoid taxation through inactivity.

Read those words again.
WHY did the Constitution not guarantee that right to individuals?
Why shouldn’t it?

Perhaps it was assumed by our Founding Fathers that such a thing would never enter anyone’s mind, but it appears as if we have reached the point where We The People need to rein in our Public Servants so that they are never able to exercise that much power over us.
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After all, the Constitution IS a “Charter of Negative Liberties” – it spells out what the government is not at liberty to do to the people.

The Government is first and foremost OF the people, BY the people, and FOR the people. The Constitution was written to PROTECT the people from their Government.

Perhaps this is what Chief Justice Roberts was trying to tell all of us in his Obamacare ruling – that the government currently has this kind of power, and that it is up to us to take that power away from them.

Can something like this get through the amendment process?
I don’t know.
But I’m willing to find out.

***Pp. 41–42, slip op., National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius, U.S. Sup. Ct. (June 28, 2012)
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[Cross-posted at Koch's Tour]
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