One of the things that conservatives are taking heart in the aftermath of the Supreme Court's decision on the ACA is the limitation on Congress's use of the Interstate Commerce clause. I agree with this.
The issue on Health Care is that it is a national problem and there exist national solutions. However, the fact remains that for anyone not on Medicare or in the Veterans Administration, heath care is a state regulated reality and nothing beyond the Taxing Power or legislative power allows the Federal Government the right to penalize people who do not buy health insurance and cast expenses upon the rest of us. While there is commerce involved in this, the only means of compelling people to do something is the Tax Code.
Health care is different from Broccoli, but I don't want anyone compelling me to do something that I don't want to do provided I do not impose an ancillary cost upon society. Thus, I am in favor of decriminalizing drugs and taking the crime out of the supply chain so violence does down where ever that supply chain goes. Most of the crime inflicted upon society from drug use is driven by the illegality and the profits that arise from it. The government is regulating interstate commerce and should not be doing so when such regulation creates harm for society. I frankly don't understand why the Ohio farmer was not allowed to grow wheat for his own consumption in the middle of a depression and the start of WWII. That just seems wrong to me. But there is a big difference between growing some grain and not buying health insurance and then receiving medical treatment which society has to pay for when you cannot. And everyone needs health care sooner or later, and in an unpredictable manner. That is what insurance is for, to cover unpredictable catastrophic expenses so one does not go bankrupt for what cannot be afforded. This is the reason car insurance is mandatory in every state of the union.
No comments:
Post a Comment