{"id":2769,"date":"2009-09-25T17:19:02","date_gmt":"2009-09-25T21:19:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/?p=2769"},"modified":"2010-07-19T23:50:15","modified_gmt":"2010-07-20T03:50:15","slug":"flout-the-individual-mandate-penalty-and-go-to-jail","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2009\/09\/25\/flout-the-individual-mandate-penalty-and-go-to-jail\/","title":{"rendered":"Flout the Individual Mandate Penalty and Go to Jail?"},"content":{"rendered":"

I wonder if President Obama still thinks the Individual Mandate provisions of the Health Care Reform bill aren’t a tax<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

The remarks Thursday from\u00a0the committee’s chief of staff, Thomas Barthold,\u00a0seems to further\u00a0weaken President Barack Obama’s contention\u00a0last week that the individual mandate penalty, which could go as high as $1,900,\u00a0is not a tax increase.<\/p>\n

Under questioning from Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.), Barthold said\u00a0the IRS would “take you to court and undertake normal collection proceedings.”<\/p>\n

Ensign pursued the line of questioning because he said a lot of Americans don’t believe the Constitution allows the government to mandate the purchase of insurance.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Sen. Ensign has apparently received a handwritten confirmation<\/a> ( a copy of the note can be found here<\/a>) from Mr. Barthold saying in part that:<\/p>\n

Violators could be charged with a misdemeanor and could face up to a year in jail or a $25,000 penalty, Barthold wrote on JCT letterhead. He signed it “Sincerely, Thomas A. Barthold.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And you thought the public option was the worst part of health care reform…<\/p>\n

I cringe every time I hear someone describe the President or a member of Congress as fascist… But I really don’t know what else to call a government that would even consider enacting a law that could send an otherwise law abiding citizen to jail for not buying health insurance!<\/p>\n

Previous<\/strong><\/p>\n