Last year, Justice Roberts upheld the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act. In his twisted decision, Roberts determined that the Obamacare was a “tax” and could be imposed under the federal government’s taxing power since the Commerce and Necessary and Proper clauses did not provide a constitutional basis for the law.
But Robert’s activist decision to uphold Obamacare under the government’s taxing power may circle back and upend the law. An opinion piece from today’s Christian Science Monitor observed:
Article I, Section 7 of the Constitution says that tax bills – “all bills for raising revenue” – must “originate in the House of Representatives.” The framers wrote this “Origination Clause” because they recognized the potential danger in the taxing power, and they wanted to keep it as close as possible to voters. So they entrusted it to members of the House, who are elected every two years and have smaller constituencies than senators, who represent whole states and serve staggered six-year terms.
But Obamacare didn’t follow the constitutional script. Instead of originating in the lower chamber, it started in the Senate, when Majority Leader Harry Reid took an old bill the House had passed that would have given veterans tax credits to buy homes, struck out all of that bill’s language, and inserted instead the confusing web of provisions that became the Affordable Care Act.
Was this “gut and amend” ploy valid?
That question is now in front of US District Judge Beryl Howell in Washington, D.C., in a challenge to Obamacare filed on behalf of Matt Sissel, an Iowa small business owner who was decorated for service as a medic in the Iraq war.
Obamacare was passed hastily, by lawmakers who admitted they had not read the bill. The legislation was passed during the holiday season, through questionable procedural tricks. It was never popular, and a recent Kaiser Family Foundation poll found that only 36 percent of Americans currently support the law. Even the Supreme Court’s liberal wing agreed that large parts of it were unconstitutional. In part of last June’s decision, Justices Stephen Breyer and Elena Kagan joined the conservatives to hold that Congress had illegally tried to force states to expand their Medicaid rolls.
Obamacare’s Tax Hike Train Wreck
By John Kartch. The most destructive Obamacare tax increases are just around the bend.
Asked about Senator Max Baucus’s (D-Mont.) recent “train wreck” comments, President Obama today said, “A huge chunk of it [Obamacare] has already been implemented.” Unmentioned was the wave of destructive Obamacare tax increases that will begin to hit Americans during the next tax filing season and beyond…
Obamacare Surtax on Investment Income: A new, 3.8 percent surtax on investment income earned in households making at least $250,000 ($200,000 single)…
Obamacare Medicare Payroll Tax Increase: [from 1.45% to 2.35% for employees, and from 2.9% to 3.8% for self-employed, making over $250,000 ($200,000 single)]…
Obamacare Medical Device Tax: Medical device manufacturers employ 409,000 people in 12,000 plants across the country. Obamacare imposes a new 2.3 percent excise tax on gross sales – even if the company does not earn a profit in a given year. In addition to killing small business jobs and impacting research and development budgets, this will make everything from pacemakers to artificial hips more expensive.
Obamacare Flexible Spending Account Tax: The 30 – 35 million Americans who use a pre-tax Flexible Spending Account (FSA) at work to pay for their family’s basic medical needs face a new Obamacare cap of $2,500. This will squeeze $13 billion of tax money from Americans over the next ten years. (Before Obamacare, the accounts were unlimited under federal law, though employers were allowed to set a cap.) Now, a parent looking to sock away extra money to pay for braces will find themselves quickly hitting this new cap, meaning they would have to pony up some or all of the cost with after-tax dollars. Read more from this story HERE.
President predicts ‘glitches and bumps’ in ObamaCare rollout
By Sam Baker. President Obama said Tuesday that his healthcare law is bound to hit some snags as it comes fully into effect over the next six months.
“Even if we do everything perfectly, there will still be glitches and bumps, “Obama said at a news conference.” That’s pretty much true of every government program that’s ever been set up.”
Asked about Democratic concerns that the implementation could be a “huge train wreck,” Obama said the law will be fully implemented on time.
“We’ve got a great team in place. We are pushing very hard to make sure we are hitting the deadlines and the benchmarks,” Obama said.
The president acknowledged the difficult work facing his administration as it scrambles to set up new insurance markets, known as exchanges, by October. Republican governors’ resistance to setting up exchanges in their states has made life harder, Obama said. Read more from this story HERE.
Photo Credit: AP
Health Care Law Is ‘Working Fine,’ Obama Says in Addressing Criticism
By Robert Pear. President Obama said Tuesday that his health care law was “working fine,” and he played down concerns that the law could disrupt coverage or lead to higher premiums for people who already had health insurance.
At the same time, federal officials released simplified application forms to be used by people seeking health insurance, tax credits and other government subsidies under the law, which Mr. Obama signed three years ago.
The new application forms — one for individuals is three pages long, and another for families is seven pages — are significantly shorter than a 21-page draft that the administration circulated earlier this year.
Major provisions of the law take effect next Jan. 1, when most Americans will be required to have health insurance.
The law represents one of the biggest changes in domestic policy in decades, as significant in some ways as the creation of Social Security or Medicare. But at a news conference on Tuesday, Mr. Obama suggested that most Americans would not be affected by changes taking effect next year. And some of his comments may lower public expectations. Read more from this story HERE.
‘Obamacare’ Poll Finds 42% of Americans Unaware It’s Law
By Sarah Parnass. A new poll finds that many Americans are confused about the health care overhaul legislation commonly called “Obamacare.”
The Kaiser Family Foundation released results of a non-partisan study today finding more than 40 percent did not even know the law was in place.
“Four in ten Americans (42%) are unaware that the ACA [Affordable Care Act] is still the law of the land,” the report says, “including 12 percent who believe the law has been repealed by Congress, 7 percent who believe it has been overturned by the Supreme Court and 23 percent who say they don’t know enough to say what the status of the law is.”
The survey showed public opinion on Obamacare is at its second-lowest rating in the past two years.
Less than half – 40 percent – of adults viewed the ACA favorably, whereas 35 percent said they viewed it unfavorably. Another 24 percent said they did not know or refused to answer. Read more from this story HERE.
