Chief Justice Roberts swung the vote in favor of the Affordable Care Act’s personal mandate on the basis of its constitutionality as a tax, as opposed to a penalty. The fascinating thing is, it was never sold as a tax, in fact it was aggressively sold as not a tax.
So what is it, a tax or a penalty? And what should we be concerned with? Speaking for myself, I’m not nearly as concerned with the potential economic impact of ACA’s mandate (I’ve covered that ad nauseam)as I am with the precedent: The allowing of legislation to directly influence our behavior (our freedom if you will) by simply labeling as a tax that which in all practicality is a penalty on personal decisions. You therefore have to wonder what new “taxes” we’ll be facing in the years to come…
My friends who support ACA tell me not to sweat it. That the mandate is a must, and that it will not spark what I suggest above. I sincerely hope they’re right!