Congress has the power to tax, be it for revenue or behavior
Posted By RichC on June 28, 2012
It was a big news day on Thursday and by now all who were interested in hearing the Supreme Court’s conclusion are no doubt tuning-out the overwhelming amount of news and opinion … that is unless you are celebrating this as a victory. I personally was surprised by the court’s ruling and am now wondering where the power of BIG government ends? What’s next …
Chief Justice Roberts, who ultimately ruled in favor of Obamacare for the most part, determined that congress has the power to “tax” and it didn’t matter if the reason was to force citizens to purchase health insurance or raise revenue; they can choose “taxing” for the purpose of raising revenue (income tax) or controlling behavior (as in sin taxes like tobacco). Unfortunately this interpretation give government even more power that may of us thought … which I suppose could be taken away at the ballot box. November will definitely have clarity for those wanting to limit the reach of our federal government and those wanting to expand it role in social programs.
Steve Moore of the WSJ editorial board had an interesting commentary:
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