How will the Supreme Court's Health Care Reform ruling ...

[HagridOfTheDeep]

This whole thing is kind of entertaining. I'm a huge Romney fan, but I can at least admit that this turn of events was nowhere near ideal. I was shocked by the SCOTUS decision and instantly felt demoralized.

The only way this works to Romney's advantage is if he stresses that mandates ARE unconstitutional, but that the Obama mandate is a actually a tax hike. Unfortunately... Romney has never been very good at spinning. There's wiggle room here, but Obama has to be pretty happy.

[HagridOfTheDeep]

Let me rephrase: The Court ruled that the government cannot force anyone to purchase a product. That is the definition of a mandate. What's at issue here is that you are not being forced to buy health insurance, but you will be taxed if you don't.

Also, I read an interesting article that I think some people here might enjoy.

"Chief Justice Roberts Is A Genius"
http://whitehouse12.com/2012/06/28/chief-justice-roberts-is-a-genius/

[HagridOfTheDeep]

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If someone does not want to buy a product, it is their individual right to refuse to do so. End of discussion. It's about liberty.

And you might be able to pass the mandate off as a tax, but it punishes people for choosing an option that the government doesn't like. How is that a good thing.

"If you do not buy an apple a day, you will be taxed." That is ridiculous.
"If you buy this unhealthly product, you will be taxed." Now that sounds a little less abstract.

Taxing someone for not having something is just so strange.

[HagridOfTheDeep]

You must be logged in to read this quote.

If someone does not want to buy a product, it is their individual right to refuse to do so. End of discussion. It's about liberty.

And you might be able to pass the mandate off as a tax, but it punishes people for choosing an option that the government doesn't like. How is that a good thing.

"If you do not buy an apple a day, you will be taxed." That is ridiculous.
"If you buy this unhealthly product, you will be taxed." Now that sounds a little less abstract.

Taxing someone for not having something is just so strange.

Doesn't the government already give out tax credits for all sorts of things?  Can't you just think of the mandate as a tax on everyone, with the people who have health insurance getting an exemption (equivalent of a tax credit)?

I guess you could look at it that way, but it still wouldn't be the reality of the Obamacare situation.

[HagridOfTheDeep]

But it is a discount from a tax on everyone.

Sure, they are effectively taxing you for not having something. But they are not officially doing it.

With Obamacare, there is no tax credit. There is just a tax.