Many people are asking me how I think the Supreme Court will rule on Obamacare. My answer every time is that I cannot and do not make predictions. I do not even like to write about things that have yet to happen, yet I am making an exception here because of all the questions and the importance of this issue.
The democrats in the House and Congress, and the President, believe Obamacare is necessary. They believe a mandate to force every American to buy health insurance is necessary. They believe the young and healthy should pay more for their health insurance to take the burden off the sick and elderly who canot pay as much, if at all. They believe Insurance companies should accept people with pre-existing conditions. They believe all of this stuff is needed, even if it's not Constitutional. Yet they beleive it is Constitutional. Either that or they don't care, as some people contend.
I'm not telling you how I think on this issue. If you want to know what I think you can go back and read some of my archives. I'm just writing here what other people say. The democrates believe it's constitutional because of the commerce clause. They believe people need healthcare, it's commerce, and therefore it can be regulated. They believe everyone will need healthcare at some point, so they should all "pay their fair share."
Republicans believe the whole thing is unconstitutional because the 10th ammendment states that anything not mentioned in this here Constitution is left to the states and the people to decide. They believe that no matter if Obamacare is needed, or wanted, or whatever, that it doesn't matter because it's unconstitutional. They believe that no matter what the opinion is of the Supreme Court justices they should rule that it is unconstitutional becasue that is their job -- to rule based on the laws that exist on the books, with the U.S. Constitution beging the supreme law of the land; the superior law.
I would like to note here that what makes the U.S. Constitution so great, what made it last this long, what makes our Constitution older than any other, is that it does not tell the government what it can do, it tells the government what it can't do. It limits the scope of government. It prevents the government from making any law that takes away our natural rights. So if Obamacare does that, if it takes away our natural rights, it should be ruled unconstitutional and shot down.
Some, those opposed to Obamacare, say it does take away natural rights. They say that it will take away our right to choose where we buy something. It will force you to buy something if you want to be an American. It will force health insurance companies to accept people with pre-existing conditions even though that would be the equivelent of a farmer buying a barn full of dead cows: it would cause him to go out of business. Some say Obama and the democrats want insurance companies to go out of business becasue then people would beg for a solution, i.e. a single payer government run healthcare system.
Most of the opinions, the guesses, I've read say at a minimum the Court will shoot down the part that forces people to buy healthcare -- the individual mandate. Yet if this happens, it may have to shoot down the rest of the law because without forcing healthy young people to buy healthcare and subsidize those who can't pay, there's no way to offset the cost of forcing health insurance companies to accept patients with pre-existing conditions.
So it's a complicated task set upon the Supreme Court Justices. It's a task I wouldn't want to take up. Regardless, most Americans, according to Scott Rasmussen, as many as 54%, would like to see the law repealed. An Associated Press poll shows that if the bill is shot down 77% want Congress and the President to work on a new healthcare bill. The Supreme Court may shoot it down, by a 5-4 vote, and simply tell Congress to start over if it wants healthcare reform; to start over and obide by the Constitution.
Regardless, the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to make the much anticipated ruling today. So by sunset tonight we'll be discussing the possible repercussions of whatever ruling is made.
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