President Obama and others have tried to make the case that forcing people into the Government Health Care program is just the same as forcing people to have car insurance. These are my thoughts about why comparing the two leads to a fallacious argument.
I know half this crowd is sympathetic to socialism, but I just wanted to post my thoughts about why this is a false argument. Mandating car insurance is not the same as mandating Government health insurance.
- Government decided long ago that driving a car on public roads is a government-regulated privilege, not a right (like it or not). Therefore the Government has reserved the option to mandate that drivers must pay for insurance.
American citizens have the right to live free without being denied life, liberty or property. The Government has no lawful business mandating that a citizen purchase something that he doesn't want, under no condition other than he is under Government-rule. Obamacare is a tax on citizenship, and makes being a citizen more of a taxable privilege than your right.
- Drivers have the option to only purchase Liability Insurance (at least in Indiana). This means drivers don't necessarily have to pay for coverage over their own vehicle if they don't want to. They weigh the risks vs. rewards.
American citizens being forced into a mandatory "Government Option" won't have the choice to opt out of coverage.
- Drivers can choose to park their vehicles and not drive them on public roads. They then can opt out of needing insurance if they choose to.
American citizens under Obamacare will have no legal choice to opt out of being covered.
- Not everybody drives. Children, disabled people, and elderly people often do not drive. City dwellers also sometimes do not drive a car and rely on public transportation or on a bicycle. All these people can avoid buying the mandated car insurance.
The only people exempted from Obamacare are the Congressmen and Senators that voted for it.
- Drivers are generally able bodied people. Able bodied people generally can get a job and pay for their own things. If you can drive a car, then surely you can earn your way to pay for your own insurance.
Mandated Government Health Care aims to cover everyone. It is an entirely different scale of program, and different range of people.
- Drivers don't get tax funded car insurance. It is a pay-your-own-way system of insurance. Tax dollars are not required to insure disenfranchised drivers.
Obamacare is entirely tax funded.
- Drivers pay for car insurance to protect other drivers' from financial loss due to a car accident.
Obamacare is a mandated purchase of health insurance "for your own good."
- Drivers who have failed to buy car insurance receive small tickets/fines, or risk revocation of their driver's license.
Citizens who have failed to pay for Obamacare face punishments of up to a $250,000 fine, and up to 5 years in prison, as well as a possible felony on your record.
- The current model of mandated car-insurance is a state-by-state issue, as it should be under the 10th Amendment of the constitution.
Obamacare is a national program, thereby ignoring the 10th Amendment's declaration of states' rights. Therefore it is an unconstitutional, and further expands the power of the Federal Government over the states, and the American people, to unprecedented levels.
I know half this crowd is sympathetic to socialism, but I just wanted to post my thoughts about why this is a false argument. Mandating car insurance is not the same as mandating Government health insurance.
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