The real tragedy of the recent decision on Obamatax is not that it was upheld on the grounds that the government has the right to regulate commercial activity and thus can make people engage in commercial activity (a line of reasoning that I disagreed with but would see how the backwards folk out there would come to), but that it was upheld because the anything that might be considered a tax is always legal (or some such grounds- like clear thinking really matters any more in this political world). The door has been opened- to both Republicans and Democrats and Fascists and Socialists and Libertarians- for the government to now require you to buy any product or you pay a penalty and then the Supreme Court will find this legal by changing it into a tax.
HotAir has a good list of some of the actions that now are legal for our government to perform:
…The list is literally endless, because of the endless number of things ideologues can come up with. But these are some of the top tunes.
- Congress can force you to buy an electric car.
- Congress can force you to buy solar panels.
- Congress can force you to buy and install a remote-control thermostat for your home.
- Congress can force you to buy internet service.
- Congress can force you to buy particular kinds of food.
- Congress can force you to buy contraceptives for yourself.
- Congress can force you to buy biofuels, even if you don’t have any use for them.
- Congress can force you to donate to political causes and “charities.”
- Congress can force you to pay union dues.
- Congress can force you to buy the New York Times.
- Congress can force you to buy “green travel” packages.
- Congress can force you to buy a 3-bedroom, 2-bath townhome with a 1-car parking spot for your electric car.
- Congress can force you to pay for soccer, gymnastics, and ballet lessons for your children.
- Congress can force you to pay for a gym membership.
- Congress can force you to rent a 2-bedroom apartment with no parking space.Congress can force you to borrow money.
- Congress can force you to pay for a state-college education for your children, regardless of where or whether they actually attend college.
- Congress can force you to buy a goat.
- Congress can force you to hire people.
- Congress can force you to buy mass transit passes, whether you use mass transit or not.
The list could go on and on. After all, if fining people for not buying health insurance is the same thing as a “tax,” then fining them for not spending on other things is also a tax….
The only purpose of a tax is to raise revenue for the government so that it can perform its limited functions. A tax is not a means to coerce people into engaging in business or not engaging in business, nor is a tax a vehicle by which the government can force a free man to perform an action (buy a product) that he does not which to perform. The Supreme Court’s decision is bad because it gives legitimacy to the idea that we are not free men and women any more, merely slaves to the masters who run the state, and that the masters now have the power to make us do whatever they want to do.
The Obamatax decision killed liberty.
Original Post: A Conservative Teacher
Congress can force you to pay for a gym membership.
I predict that this will happen relatively quickly. If one weighs in too heavy, the doctor is required to enter that information into the electronic records. From there, it is easy for the government to force the patient into a weight loss program.
[...] List of Ways Government Can Now Control You [...]
No difference whatsoever, commerce clause or this, and perhaps this is even worse. Maybe we will know the true story with Roberts.
This was an unbelievably horrible decision by Roberts because he has now made it legal for the government to run every aspect of our lives or face a tax. This is a power the government is sure to abuse!