Georgetown Constitutional law professor Randy Barnett discusses the new health care individual mandate: "The insurance mandate in peril."
In this way, the statute speciously tries to convert inactivity into the "activity" of making a "decision." By this reasoning, your "decision" not to take a job, not to sell your house, or not to buy a Chevrolet is an "activity that is commercial and economic in nature" that can be mandated by Congress.It seems to me that the "activity" of not making a decision was first posited by legal scholar Geddy Lee:
It is true that the Supreme Court has interpreted the Commerce Clause broadly enough to reach wholly intrastate economic "activity" that substantially affects interstate commerce. But the Court has never upheld a requirement that individuals who are doing nothing must engage in economic activity by entering into a contractual relationship with a private company. Such a claim of power is literally unprecedented.
If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.Ironically, from "Freewill." Rock on.
4 comments:
"By this reasoning, your "decision" not to take a job, not to sell your house, or not to buy a Chevrolet is an "activity that is commercial and economic in nature" that can be mandated by Congress."
Strrrrreeeeeeeeeeeettttttttttch!
"But the Court has never upheld a requirement that individuals who are doing nothing must engage in economic activity by entering into a contractual relationship with a private company. Such a claim of power is literally unprecedented."
OK, for now, let's accept this account of events as accurate. Is Barnett really saying that the Court has never yet upheld a claim which has never been made to them? Damn, even the time-space continuum hates freedom.
I'm not following you: the premise is that if you want to live in a cabin like the Unabomber - more power to ya. But the government has never punished Americans for doing nothing.
It's a whole new world.
I bought my first Rush album when I was in middle school....it was Spirit of Radio. I didn't have a chance to read your commentary as I immediately clicked on the music and lost all of my thoughts.
Ahhh, the memories.
http://scottfactor.com
Neil Peart writes all the lyrics, Geddy handles the music.
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