Supreme Court nonsense!

A week is a long time in politics.

And when you add the Supreme Court into the mix, all sorts of nonsense can happen.

Just this week we have the Supreme Court telling the States that yes, they can check an individual’s identification…but no, they cannot do anything if the person is here illegally. That is the Fed’s job…and even if they are not doing it, the States cannot do it for them.

Interesting logic, if nothing else.

And then today the Supremes have effectively said that if the government charges a tax on people who do not buy what the government wants them to buy, that is ok. And therefore most of Obamacare stays.

It never ceases to amaze me how stupid people can be.

You see, this whole Obamacare thing really was not about health care…it was about how far the Federal Government can go in telling you and I what we must and must not do. It is about Government meddling in your lives under the guise of making your life better. It is about big Government creating programs that feed it and will eventually lead to total tyranny.

Today’s Supreme Court decision will most likely become a political football with the liberals gloating and the conservatives regrouping to challenge it in the house.

The man on the street, with little or no legal knowledge, will suddenly become constitutional experts…sprouting their nonsense to anyone who will listen…and hoping to force it down the throats of those who do not wish to listen.

Debate will be vocal and harsh…taunts will be made by both the gloaters, and the other side will return threats of overturn and “wait till November”. Yep, business as usual.

But here’s the thing…and this is what scares me…this is what we must be concerned about.

Romney delivered a good speech today…a speech tinged with all the problems with Obamacare…a speech delivered in a tempered style…a speech promising repeal of Obamacare…a speech delineating the choice the people must make in November. I actually thought it was a good 5 minute response to today’s news…and appropriate.

However I saw one major problem with it. While promising repeal, he indicated that it would be replaced with a system that would reduce health costs, ensure people with pre-existing conditions can get coverage and a few other things…all the so-called “good parts” of Obamacare are being planned to be included in the replacement.

That is scary to me.

Why?

Because the good parts are popular. They are popular because they will end what is seen as discriminatory pricing..ie. charging more for health insurance carried by those with greater health risks…huh?

Do we really want to go down this path?

Let me ask you this….

You are a healthy young adult…your young family is healthy….you eat well, you manage your diet carefully to ensure a good balance…you don’t smoke, exercise daily and have no family history of chronic disease like heart issues or cancer. You do not have diabetes, or weight issues. In fact you are healthy as a horse.

Your neighbor, who is about your age, and has a family just like yours, is a lazy man. Rather than go to the store each week he buys his meals from fast food chains. His regular diet of big macs and pizza (often on the same day) has led to a weight problem of significant magnitude. At  5 ft 10” he carries his 350 pound with a half shuffle reminiscent of a man 3 times his age. 60 cigarettes a day and a 12 pack of beer every night does little to enhance his health. His father and mother both died young…one from several forms of cancer and the other from heart disease. His diabetes has raged uncontrolled for a decade now.

I absolutely agree that both you and your neighbor should be able to obtain health insurance.

But my question is…how much should you pay and how much should your neighbor pay?

Insurance premiums based on a risk assessment would indicate that you should pay a much lower premium than your neighbor. All things being equal the insurance company could easily determine that the likelihood of your needing significant medical care now is MUCH lower than the likelihood of your neighbor needing medical care now.

Since the cost of medical care is 100% dependent on the amount of care you need, it makes sense that your neighbor should pay a significantly higher premium than you.

Ahh…but the advocates of the “good parts” of Obamacare are saying “NO”….they believe that regardless of the life choices a person makes, the insurance premiums should be the same for all people.

This is nothing more than a redistributive scheme…you see, as a healthy young man (or woman) you are more likely to have a good job, a better paying job than your unhealthy neighbor. In fact, your neighbor is more likely to be living on welfare.

In order for your neighbor to pay the same premium as you, it is necessary that YOUR premium be increased. The insurance company can no longer practice risk assessment pricing so must spread the cost of care across everybody…which means you pay more, and the additional cost subsidizes the unhealthy.

Insurance that is priced this way leads inevitably to higher premiums for everyone.

Can you imagine if everybody paid the same car insurance premium regardless of their driving history, number of accidents, number of DUI’s etc?

This is exactly what we are talking about with the “good parts” of Obamacare. The parts that even many conservatives want to see included in a replacement.

And the worst part of all this is that such a system does not encourage healthy eating habits or healthy lifestyles. In fact it supports the opposite. There is no penalty for choosing a lifestyle that will see you visiting the doctor every week…instead it is simply a redistribution of health…taking from the healthy and giving to the unhealthy.

Maybe all our college students should practice this principal with their college scores…take from the high scores and give to the low scores…I wonder what would happen to education standards if that was adopted? Do you really believe the result will be any different if adopted in health care?

Sheesh.

So…we conservatives must be aware of what is really happening here.

While the Supreme Court decision today opens up a full range of potential abuses by the Federal Government, and we should not take this lightly, I do not expect that such abuses will occur in the near future. Should Obama win in November however, that could be different.

I can imagine the government stipulating that every person over the age of 25 must own a car….to reduce costs of public transport, or be levied a tax to support such costs. Then, the car must be American made…and easy to justify next step. Of course, if the Government had invested or loaned a specific manufacture money, and that manufacturer was in trouble…a simple adjustment would require you buy from a specific manufacture…and then there is the green agenda…to support that you must by an electric car.

This is somewhat far fetched and I do not expect the people would stand for such abuse….but it IS the logical outflowing of today’s decision.

Oreven more palatable…the global warming crowd pressure the government into doing more for clean energy. Fossil fuels are not only damaging the earth but are creating health issues that are costing more under Obamacare. The simple solution is to reduce the so-called green house gasses…so the government decides that all new homes must be built with solar panels on their roof. Soon after it is mandated that all homeowners MUST retrofit their homes with solar panels or pay a tax which will be used to offset the costs of managing the health effects of global warming. (Of course, it is totally irrelevant that the government has invested in multiple solar panel producing companies, and this mandate would ensure that the loans/investments could be repaid thus avoiding another Solyndra type scandal.)

These are just two areas of governmental over-reach that are sure to be in our futures if we allow this stupidity to continue.

Of course the repeal of Obamacare does not change that…the precedent has been set that the government can tell you what to buy and tax you if you do not comply.

What a disgrace!

But I warn you again. Replacement of Obamacare with a product that gets rid of the bad things and keeps the “good parts” is equally as dangerous. It opens the way for huge increases in health costs…and will permeate our society so that no form of risk based pricing for any roduct will ever be allowed.

And you know what this?

Socialism. Government control. While the capitalist system will remain with private ownership allowed, pricing will be government controlled as will the selection of products. It will be nothing more that the redistribution of wealth…and we will all be thrust into a grey world…a world where there is no flavor, no color…and NO freedom.

The temptation to play politics with today’s decision is high.

But a greater threat to our future remains in two places:-

1.       Allowing Obama to win in November

2.       2. Allowing a conservative Obamacare to pass with the just “good bits”

Government has no place meddling in your lives to this extent. They already have too much control.

Beware…the slide to socialism could simply be slower under a conservative.

…..devereaux