{"id":2754,"date":"2009-09-22T15:06:55","date_gmt":"2009-09-22T19:06:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/?p=2754"},"modified":"2010-07-19T23:51:23","modified_gmt":"2010-07-20T03:51:23","slug":"yes-mr-president-the-individual-mandate-is-a-tax","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2009\/09\/22\/yes-mr-president-the-individual-mandate-is-a-tax\/","title":{"rendered":"Yes, Mr. President the Individual Mandate Is A Tax"},"content":{"rendered":"

I don’t know about you, but I didn’t watch Pres. Obama ‘s Sunday Talk show orgy… I’ve skimmed through the transcripts and frankly I don’t think I missed much. He really didn’t say anything new, he simply repeated the same arguments he’s been making for months. About the only interesting thing I came across was this exchange with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos<\/a>:<\/p>\n

STEPHANOPOULOS: You were against the individual mandate…<\/p>\n

OBAMA: Yes.<\/p>\n

STEPHANOPOULOS: …during the campaign. Under this mandate, the government is forcing people to spend money, fining you if you don’t<\/p>\n

How is that not a tax?<\/p>\n

OBAMA: Well, hold on a second, George. Here — here’s what’s happening. You and I are both paying $900, on average — our families — in higher premiums because of uncompensated care. Now what I’ve said is that if you can’t afford health insurance, you certainly shouldn’t be punished for that. That’s just piling on.<\/p>\n

If, on the other hand, we’re giving tax credits, we’ve set up an exchange, you are now part of a big pool, we’ve driven down the costs, we’ve done everything we can and you actually can afford health insurance, but you’ve just decided, you know what, I want to take my chances. And then you get hit by a bus and you and I have to pay for the emergency room care, that’s…<\/p>\n

STEPHANOPOULOS: That may be, but it’s still a tax increase.<\/p>\n

OBAMA: No. That’s not true, George. The — for us to say that you’ve got to take a responsibility to get health insurance is absolutely not a tax increase. What it’s saying is, is that we’re not going to have other people carrying your burdens for you anymore than the fact that right now everybody in America, just about, has to get auto insurance. Nobody considers that a tax increase.<\/p>\n

People say to themselves, that is a fair way to make sure that if you hit my car, that I’m not covering all the costs.<\/p>\n

STEPHANOPOULOS: But it may be fair, it may be good public policy…<\/p>\n

OBAMA: No, but — but, George, you — you can’t just make up that language and decide that that’s called a tax increase. Any…<\/p>\n

STEPHANOPOULOS: Here’s the…<\/p>\n

OBAMA: What — what — if I — if I say that right now your premiums are going to be going up by 5 or 8 or 10 percent next year and you say well, that’s not a tax increase; but, on the other hand, if I say that I don’t want to have to pay for you not carrying coverage even after I give you tax credits that make it affordable, then…<\/p>\n

STEPHANOPOULOS: I — I don’t think I’m making it up. Merriam Webster’s Dictionary: Tax — “a charge, usually of money, imposed by authority on persons or property for public purposes.”<\/p>\n

OBAMA: George, the fact that you looked up Merriam’s Dictionary, the definition of tax increase, indicates to me that you’re stretching a little bit right now. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have gone to the dictionary to check on the definition. I mean what…<\/p>\n

STEPHANOPOULOS: Well, no, but…<\/p>\n

OBAMA: …what you’re saying is…<\/p>\n

STEPHANOPOULOS: I wanted to check for myself. But your critics say it is a tax increase.<\/p>\n

OBAMA: My critics say everything is a tax increase. My critics say that I’m taking over every sector of the economy. You know that.<\/p>\n

Look, we can have a legitimate debate about whether or not we’re going to have an individual mandate or not, but…<\/p>\n

STEPHANOPOULOS: But you reject that it’s a tax increase?<\/p>\n

OBAMA: I absolutely reject that notion.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

With all due respect Mr. President you’re wrong… It is a tax… I says so right on page 29<\/a> of the Baucus bill itself:<\/p>\n

Excise Tax. The consequence for not maintaining insurance would be an excise tax. If a taxpayer\u2018s MAGI is between 100-300 percent of FPL, the excise tax for failing to obtain coverage for an individual in a taxpayer unit (either as a taxpayer or an individual claimed as a dependent) is $750 per year. However, the maximum penalty for the taxpayer unit is $1,500. If a taxpayer\u2018s MAGI is above 300 percent of FPL the penalty for failing to obtain coverage for an individual in a taxpayer unit (either as a taxpayer or as an individual claimed as a dependent) is $950 year. However, the maximum penalty amount a family above 300 percent of FPL would pay is $3,800.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Presidents contention is so ridiculous that even the AP is calling him out<\/a> on it:<\/p>\n

Memo to President Barack Obama<\/span>: It’s a tax. Obama insisted this weekend on national television that requiring people to carry health insurance<\/span> \u2014 and fining them if they don’t \u2014 isn’t the same thing as a tax increase. But the language of Democratic bills to revamp the nation’s health care system<\/span> doesn’t quibble. Both the House bill and the Senate Finance Committee proposal<\/span> clearly state that the fines would be a tax.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

There’s no way around it, the individual mandate is a tax… and as <\/span>David Rivkin Jr. and Lee Casey explain in a Wall Street Journal op-ed<\/a> it’s an unconstitutional one.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I don’t know about you, but I didn’t watch Pres. Obama ‘s Sunday Talk show orgy… I’ve skimmed through the transcripts and frankly I don’t think I missed much. He really didn’t say anything new, he simply repeated the same arguments he’s been making for months. About the only interesting thing I came across was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[43,7],"tags":[57,124,781,841,1365],"class_list":{"0":"post-2754","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-health-care","7":"category-politics","8":"tag-barack-obama","9":"tag-george-stephanopoulos","10":"tag-health-care-reform","11":"tag-individual-mandate","12":"tag-taxes","13":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pfpI7-Iq","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":353,"url":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2008\/09\/13\/gibson-versus-palin-round-two\/","url_meta":{"origin":2754,"position":0},"title":"Gibson versus Palin – Round Two","author":"Jeff","date":"September 13, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Scroll for Updates Over all Governor Palin did quite well last night, she was relaxed, confident and showed tremendous grace under pressure. I was disappointed in her answers on the economy though. Frankly I think she blew it. She didn't do anything to differentiate the McCain campaign from Bush administration.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Media"","block_context":{"text":"Media","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/category\/media\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1118,"url":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2008\/12\/16\/mccain-dodges-the-palin-question\/","url_meta":{"origin":2754,"position":1},"title":"McCain Dodges the Palin Question","author":"Jeff","date":"December 16, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Josh Painter over at RedState points out this exchange between George Stephanopoulos and Sen. John McCain on last Sunday's This Week: Today on ABC\u2019s This Week, when asked by host George Stephanopoulos whether he would support Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin if she runs for president, Sen. John McCain punted: \u201cOh\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Politics"","block_context":{"text":"Politics","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/category\/politics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4154,"url":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2011\/08\/12\/unconstitutional-11th-circuit-strikes-down-obamacare-mandate\/","url_meta":{"origin":2754,"position":2},"title":"Unconstitutional: 11th Circuit strikes down Obamacare mandate","author":"Jeff","date":"August 12, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, based in Atlanta, ruled today that Congress exceeded its Constitutional authority by requiring Americans to buy health insurance coverage. The 2-1 ruling also found that the rest of the law could stand. I'm still reviewing the 200 plus page majority opinion\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Breaking News"","block_context":{"text":"Breaking News","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/category\/breaking-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2769,"url":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2009\/09\/25\/flout-the-individual-mandate-penalty-and-go-to-jail\/","url_meta":{"origin":2754,"position":3},"title":"Flout the Individual Mandate Penalty and Go to Jail?","author":"Jeff","date":"September 25, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"I wonder if President Obama still thinks the Individual Mandate provisions of the Health Care Reform bill aren't a tax: Americans who fail to pay the penalty for not buying insurance would face\u00a0legal action from the Internal Revenue Service, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation. The remarks Thursday from\u00a0the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Health Care"","block_context":{"text":"Health Care","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/category\/health-care\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3758,"url":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2010\/12\/13\/breaking-federal-judge-rules-obamacare-individual-mandate-unconstitutional\/","url_meta":{"origin":2754,"position":4},"title":"Breaking: Federal Judge Rules ObamaCare Individual Mandate Unconstitutional","author":"Jeff","date":"December 13, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"U.S. District Court judge Henry Hudson has ruled key provision of the Democrats health care reform law unconstitutional. from The Wall Street Journal: A federal district judge sided with the state of Virginia in its challenge to the health law passed in March, saying Congress exceeded its \"constitutional boundaries\" when\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Breaking News"","block_context":{"text":"Breaking News","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/category\/breaking-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2639,"url":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2009\/08\/25\/are-obamacares-individual-mandates-constitutional\/","url_meta":{"origin":2754,"position":5},"title":"Are ObamaCare’s Individual Mandates Constitutional?","author":"Jeff","date":"August 25, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"The answer would appear to be no, at least that the conclusion of an op-ed by penned David B. Rivkin Jr. and Lee A. Casey in last Saturday's Washington Post: President Obama has called for a serious and reasoned debate about his plans to overhaul the health-care system. Any such\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Health Care"","block_context":{"text":"Health Care","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/category\/health-care\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2754","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2754"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2754\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2754"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2754"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2754"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}