Earlier this month, President Obama tried to put aside concerns that those that choose not to participate in the government\’s take over of health care would be subjected to fines and possibly prison terms. It\’s a very real concern, as under the House bill you very well could do jail time for refusing to participate in the government\’s so-called \”public option\”. President\’s Obama explanation for this? Well, about as competent as you\’d expect.
“What I think is appropriate is that in the same way that everybody has to get auto insurance and if you don\’t, you\’re subject to some penalty, that in this situation, if you have the ability to buy insurance, it\’s affordable and you choose not to do so, forcing you and me and everybody else to subsidize you, you know, there\’s a thousand dollar hidden tax that families all across America are — are burdened by because of the fact that people don\’t have health insurance, you know, there\’s nothing wrong with a penalty.”
It\’s a comparison that\’s easy to make, and it\’s easy because it\’s intellectually lazy (I thought only Bush did that) and ignores a not-so-subtle difference between the two.
With auto insurance you are required to have it if you own an automobile and intend to drive it on public roads. If you only use public transportation, there is no requirement to buy auto insurance. Or if you intend to only drive on private roads, say a dirt track in your backyard, you are similarly not required. These all present a basic choice, if you want use public roads you have to agree to certain conditions. Conditions such as speed limits, traffic laws and auto insurance.
Whereas health insurance is required if…well if you are breathing. And while I suppose one has a choice on whether they do that, it\’s not much of a choice, what with death being the consequence. Wow, when you really look at it, this whole public health insurance thing is just full of \”death panels\” isn\’t it?
For a President that is supposedly supposed to be super intelligent and certainly nothing like the supposed simpleton like Bush, making such a lazy and easily refuted justification for criminalizing your simple existence is just plain stupid. Particularly when you consider that apparently the simple act of existing is more worthy of criminal prosecution than illegal aliens violating actual laws.