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Politics : Liberalism: Do You Agree We've Had Enough of It? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (96995)	12/17/2010 9:37:23 AM
From: TideGlider	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 224864

Looks good to me ;^) The payroll tax nonsense is mainly for the low income scammers who pay nothing anyway.

To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (96995)	12/17/2010 9:38:26 AM
From: TideGlider	Respond to of 224864

Judge Leery of Health Mandate By JANET ADAMY PENSACOLA, Fla.—A federal judge in a 20-state lawsuit against the Obama administration's health overhaul signaled Thursday he is sympathetic to the plaintiffs' argument that requiring Americans to carry health insurance violates the Constitution. But Judge Roger Vinson seemed skeptical of the second plank of the states' suit: that the law forces states into a costly expansion of their Medicaid insurance programs for the poor. The hearing in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida came three days after a Virginia federal judge in a similar case struck down the law's requirement that most Americans carry insurance or pay a fee. Judge Vinson gave little indication that ruling would play into his decision. blogs.wsj.com Associated Press Florida Attorney General McCollum .The plaintiffs consist of governors and attorneys general led by Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum, all but one of them Republicans. They argue that the "individual mandate" requiring Americans to carry insurance is beyond the federal government's power under the Constitution's commerce clause. Failure to buy insurance is "inactivity," they argue, not "activity" that Congress can regulate. Judge Vinson, who was appointed by President Ronald Reagan, signaled he saw the requirement as unprecedented and a potential imposition on Americans' individual liberties. The case is one of some two dozen federal lawsuits that are ultimately expected to be decided by the Supreme Court. "It would be a giant leap for the Supreme Court to say that a decision to buy or not to buy is tantamount to activity," Judge Vinson told the court. But the judge appeared much less persuaded by the states' argument against expanding Medicaid. The law is expected to add 16 million Americans to the joint federal-state program beginning in 2014. The plaintiffs say expansion is too costly and they couldn't opt out of it because it would be unfair to the poor. The administration counters that states are free to drop out of Medicaid if they wish. Judge Vinson seemed to agree, saying: "It's possible for any state to withdraw from the Medicaid program." So far, the Virginia ruling on Monday is the only one that has struck down part of the law, while two federal district judges who were Democratic appointees have ruled in the Obama administration's favor. The Virginia judge who found part of the law unconstitutional—Henry E. Hudson, a George W. Bush appointee in the Eastern District of Virginia—didn't grant an injunction against it, meaning it remains in place during appeals. Inside the Pensacola courtroom Thursday, plaintiffs' attorney David Rivkin argued that the administration was setting up a scenario in which it could require any citizen to buy any product. That seemed to strike a chord with Judge Vinson. "If they decide that everyone needs to eat broccoli," then the commerce clause could allow Congress to require everyone to buy a certain quantity of broccoli, the judge said. Ian Gershengorn, a Justice Department lawyer representing the administration, said the health insurance market is unlike any other, since all Americans at some point get medical care. Requiring them to carry insurance is just a way of regulating how they pay for it, and preventing all those with insurance coverage from subsidizing the cost of others' uncompensated care, he said. "It is not shoes, it is not cars, it is not broccoli," he said Judge Vinson took issue with the suggestion that the uninsured don't pay for their care. He said he was uninsured in law school when his son was born, and joked that the delivery bill came to about $100 per pound. "I paid it," he told the court. One of the biggest questions, should Judge Vinson rule that the individual mandate violates the Constitution, is whether he would decide it could be "severed" from the rest of the law, as did Virginia judge Hudson. Judge Vinson likened the law to a clock when taking one wheel away would prevent the whole from functioning. But he also acknowledged that peeling back certain pieces of the law would be tricky. Already in effect, he said, is a provision of that law that gives nursing mothers lactation areas inside the workplace. "How can you possibly undo some of these things?" he asked. The Medicaid issue is gaining relevance because a handful of cash-strapped states recently have discussed the once-unthinkable move of opting out of the program. Judge Vinson pointed out that two states in the lawsuit have publicly confirmed such discussions, undermining the plaintiffs' argument that they can't simply leave Medicaid if they don't like the expanded program. He didn't specify the states, but officials in both Texas and Nevada, which are part of the suit, have had such discussions. Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott told reporters after the hearing he couldn't say whether it was feasible for Texas to pull out of Medicaid, an idea floated by the state's Republican governor, Rick Perry. "We're damned if we do, we're damned if we don't," he said of remaining in the program Write to Janet Adamy at janet.adamy@wsj.com Copyright 2010 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com