Health Care Reform-An Opportunity To Teach Part 1

As I understand the main thrust of one of the main arguments against the health care reform bill signed into law today by the President concerns the fact that it mandates every citizen to purchase health insurance. The government is basing this requirement on the power of the United States Congress, who like voted on this bill and stuff, to govern commerce between the States.

It's in the Constitution at Article 1, Section 8. You can look it up. Really it is.

We will talk about the legal arguments down the road. It's been a long day. I'm tired.

Let's start off by talking about the paranoid argument that mandating the acquisition of insurance is an undue encroachment upon our liberties. Or as one commentator on Facebook, that font of wisdom, put it, " The more the government takes over the less we are free." Or something like unto that.

Message to Crazytown: The notion that the government-hello!-exacts taxes is not exactly new. The government requires you to get insurance in order to drive a car. The government requires you to pay property taxes which funds the public schools even if your kid is not enrolled there. The government takes out taxes for Medicare from your paycheck. It requires businesses to pay Unemployment Insurance. And Worker's Comp.

Uncle Sam is up to his eyeballs in health care already. He regulates drugs, medical schools, the Health Care Finance Authority and the VA. That's just off the top of my head.

Did you birthers and Tea Party types just wake up to what has been going on since FDR and the Johnson Administration? Last time I consulted the history books there were Republican Presidents and Republican majorities of Congress that didn't get rid of these programs when they were in charge. And they have always pimped people like you.

Let's go all in. Let's abolish all of these programs. I dare you.

Good luck.

An arid dissertation on the Commerce Clause is forthcoming.