the constitutionality of this bill probably won't be much of a problem. even the mandate. of course we won't have a case until after 2014, so it depends on who is still sitting. Stevens will be out soon, probably at the end of this term, and will be replaced with another similar minded judge, no doubt.
imo it all depends on the interpretation of the commerce clause and (obviously) congresses powers. there very well could be a line connected between the mandate and congresses power to regulate interstate commerce. but again it all depends on what the make-up of the court is at that time.
I was trying to think if there was any presidence pertaining to the federal government, or even state government, mandating that all citizens must buy a service from a private company. I couldn't think of any.
They are also mandating that insurance companies must spend 85% of premiums on health services for policy holders (currently 65%). That sounds like a recipe for disaster considering the health insurance industry profits account for less than 6% of premiums. As a comparison, Apple is at 19% profit.
precedent*
and there are plenty of laws that do such. immunizations come to mind right off the bat. granted it is inherently different. i agree. i would also point to car insurance. but there there is a way out. don't drive. there are several other similar governmental regulations that require certain things to be done for the greater economy.
as far as the premiums discussion, apple won't have the entire country buying their products. percentages are relevant to the size of their pools. just a thought.
i'm not really looking to get involved in this debate one way or the other, because in politics someone always has an answer and its always an answer that proves their point in some way.
the only thing i will say is that i am disappointed in the way the GOP has handled this situation. This bill is extremely similar to a certain presidential candidate's own plan in his own state, and in fact modeled in certain ways after it. They are acting like children, utilizing fear and propagandist diction in order to sway constituents. I'm not saying that the Dem's aren't guilty of their own propaganda, but some of this is just unreal. There are better ways to fry a fish than telling a person that they are doing it wrong and that if they don't do it your way they all will die of aids.
The bill passed because of people who were elected to do so. Maybe it wasn't the only reason they were elected, maybe it wasn't even a reason they were elected, but this is how America works. People line themselves up ideologically with a candidate and hope he serves them to the best of his or her ability. The people who created and passed this bill were our (America) representatives. To say that they did not represent America, like so many in the GOP have said, is to give a majority to a vocal minority.
And this is just an observation, but some of the righties are taking the passing of this bill almost EXACTLY like ku fans after Northern Iowa. (if this is too much of a basketball conversation, mods, please move to appropriate board. tia.)
