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Politics : View from the Center and Left -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: JohnM who wrote (131541)	2/26/2010 10:42:53 AM
From: Lane3	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 541326

The Rep proposal to sell health insurance across state lines is already in the Senate bill That's a gross distortion. What's in the Senate bill specifies one national plan (at three levels of co-pay) available for purchase across state lines from one of multiple companies offering it. The proposal to sell health insurance across state lines is intended to produce a variety of different plan options from which to choose. Not at all the same thing. What's in the Senate bill actually reduces options down to one. The drawback to that is that it would creates powerful race-to-the-bottom incentives. I understand this point. But it is the perspective of someone who things regulation is inherently good and more regulation even better. It's the perspective of someone who can't see that there is helpful regulation and detrimental regulation. Part of why insurance costs so much is excessive regulation like regulation that allows only first-dollar policies or requires all the cats and dogs to be covered. While it is possible that a race to the bottom might occur, a race to the top is also possible, or maybe a race to the middle. The bottom isn't a given.

To: JohnM who wrote (131541)	2/26/2010 11:23:20 AM
From: Paul Smith	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 541326

The basic answer is that the government mandates all sorts of things all the time. Definitely not a problem. Paying taxes is a mandate. Just try not paying them; wait around a few years until the IRS catches up with you; bang. Government, at a variety of levels--local, state, and federal--mandates fees of all sorts of types. I'm not sold on the "definitely not a problem" part - there are many legal articles out there that claim it would be a problem. I understand that different people have different views but it seems to indicate that it is not really a certain situation. The power to tax by the Federal government is in the Constitution - I think an amendment had to be passed to make an individual income tax legal. An income tax is different than forcing every individual to buy something. I can't think of any examples of the Federal government forcing the purchase of anything on every individual in the country. State and local governments have different powers.