Thursday, June 28, 2012

Obamacare

I am currently working at Wimbledon so won't be posting for the next few days. However, I wanted to draw a note on the Obamacare decision. I agree with the court's judgement. As John Roberts noted, "It is not our job to protect the people from the consequences of their political choices." I believe that Obamacare is a bad law that will fail to address the key problems facing Americans and our health care. Resolving this failure is a matter for the Congress. 

I have always been a big fan of John Roberts. I believe that he is an exceptionally strong jurist. Fair minded, logical and independent of political persuasion. He was a great appointment by President Bush.




1 comment:

  1. Roberts said "It is not our job to protect the people from the consequences of their political choices." Isn't it their job to protect people from the unconstitutional consequences of their political choices? Roberts is, as are many other justices, too focused on finding authority in the constitution, while ignoring the prohibitions in the constitution. Roberts agrees with the other dissenting justices that the health insurance mandate itself is unconstitutional. Yet Roberts finds congressional taxing power is the authority to fine non-compliance. If the fine was a tax, the tax would violate the constitutional prohibition on capitation and other (unapportioned) direct taxes. By Roberts' reasoning, Congress could compel or prohibit church attendance or any other constitutionally prohibited mandate by fining non-compliance authorized by congressional taxing power. Roberts was too focused on limiting expansion of the commerce clause, and, as a consequnce, created an even bigger loophole to expand governmental power. Roberts' judicial activism doesn't align with the judicial restraint advocated by limited government constitutionalists and conservatives.

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