Obama Aide Rejects ‘Tax’ Label for Health Care Law (Obama believes Obamacare is unconstitutional)

ny times ^ | 7/1/2012 | ANNIE LOWREY

[tobyhill]

Jacob J. Lew, the White House chief of staff, on Sunday defended President Obama‘s health care law but rejected the “tax” label that the Supreme Court, in a ruling that mostly upheld the law last week, used to describe the penalty payment required for those who choose not to buy health insurance.

The Supreme Court affirmed the so-called individual mandate to buy health insurance on the ground that it might be “reasonably characterized as a tax.” Since the ruling, Republican leaders have denounced the White House for raising the tax burden on Americans with the law, and they have called for its full repeal.

The mandate is a central piece of the health care law and is enforceable with a penalty assessed through the tax system.

But Mr. Lew repeatedly declined to call the mandate a tax. “The law set it up as a penalty for the people who make” the choice not to purchase health insurance, he said in an interview with George Stephanopoulos on the ABC program “This Week.” “The court found it constitutional. Frankly, what you call it is not the issue.”

[Pearls Before Swine]

Jack Lew is one smart, slimy, smarmy, disagreeable man.

[Gunslingr3]

‘How many legs does a calf have if we called its tail a leg? Four. Calling a tail a leg doesn’t make it a leg.’ - Abraham Lincoln

[EBH]

No, the court found it constitutional if it is a ‘tax,’

AND I find the constant denial to be very troubling.

For if the regime insists it is not a tax, then the law cannot stand and the regime perjured itself before the court...

We need to start calling these SOBs out on this redefining stuff. If it is not a tax...then it is unconstitutional.

You can't have it both ways!!! Please somebody ...

[tobyhill]

Obama’s got a BIG problem and he knows it. The tax can be repealed by a simple majority in the Senate and since the Commerce Clause has been ruled unconstitutional, he can't fall back on that argument.

All congress has to do not fund it and/or lower the TAX to near nothing without repeal.

[RC2]

Interesting that now, we can be penalized and/or taxed for something that we don’t do.

[savedbygrace]

The law itself says it’s a tax.

BOHICA.

[nevermorelenore]

having trouble adding a pic to my post, any suggestions????

[ROCKLOBSTER]

Jack Lew is one smart, slimy, smarmy, disagreeable man.

You left out "lying POS" and "dirtbag".

[EBH]

The law itself says it’s a tax

I don't believe it does. They avoided that language at all costs.

[nevermorelenore]

Joke.jpg

[justa-hairyape]

If it is not a Tax, then we owe the IRS nothing. Do you want to ruin your main revenue generator for chump change ? You DC elitist really are stupid.

[Mechanicos]

He can reject the label TAX until the earth stops turning - As a matter of LAW its a tax. End of debate.

[savedbygrace]

Don’t have time to find it now, but I recall that from when it was being voted on and someone posted the quotes from the bill a few days ago here.

[tobyhill]

What’s funny about this is when the millions of lawsuits get filed against the IRS for HIPPA Violations or right to privacy violations.

[EGPWS]

‘How many legs does a calf have if we called its tail a leg? Four. Calling a tail a leg doesn’t make it a leg.’ - Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln died before Bill Clinton was POTUS however, otherwise his quote may be different! /s

[RC2]

I have never added a pic to a post. I just put the address up where the picture is.

[EBH]

I would appreciate it if you could find it in your spare time. It seems my recollection and their firm denials tell me something different.

I have seen mandate, penalty, etc, ...not tax.

Thanks.

[philman_36]

La-de-da-de-da...

Transcript...@Supreme Court: The Health Care Law And The Individual Mandate
It's got this little number in it...

GENERAL VERRILLI: I don't think that that's a fair characterization of the actions of Congress here, Justice Kagan. On the — December 23rd, a point of constitutional order was called to, in fact, with respect to this law. The floor sponsor, Senator Baucus, defended it as an exercise of the taxing power. In his response to the point of order, the Senate voted 60 to 39 on that proposition.

The legislative history is replete with members of Congress explaining that this law is constitutional as an exercise of the taxing power. It was attacked as a tax by its opponents. So I don't think this is a situation where you can say that Congress was avoiding any mention of the tax power.

It would be one thing if Congress explicitly disavowed an exercise of the tax power. But given that it hasn't done so, it seems to me that it's — not only is it fair to read this as an exercise of the tax power, but this Court has got an obligation to construe it as an exercise of the tax power, if it can be upheld on that basis.

Sounds to me like Congress knew it was a tax during debate.

@It Was Always a Tax
In part...Mr. President, the bill before us is clearly an appropriate exercise of the commerce clause. We further believe Congress has power to enact this legislation pursuant to the taxing and spending powers.

Snip...House Democrats likewise argued that Obamacare is constitutionally justified as an exercise of Congress’s power to levy taxes and spend money. Thus, Rep. George Miller of California said:

The bill contains an individual mandate to either obtain health insurance or pay a penalty. This provision is grounded in Congress’s taxing power but is also necessary and proper–indeed, a critical linchpin–to the overall effort to reform the health care market and bring associated costs under control throughout interstate commerce.

A really good article, IMO.
Be sure to read this...

The brief that administration lawyers filed on behalf of President Obama argued at length that the mandate is a tax. At risk of boring our readers, I am going to reproduce that entire section of the brief. You shouldn’t feel obliged to read it all, but it is actually quite interesting:
II. THE MINIMUM COVERAGE PROVISION IS INDEPENDENTLY AUTHORIZED BY CONGRESS’S TAXING POWER
A. The Minimum Coverage Provision Operates As A Tax Law

I rather liked this towards the end...

Hey, that’s what you get for reading a web site that is written by lawyers. But even if you didn’t follow all of that, I am sure you got the point: the Obama administration argued vigorously, and at considerable length, that the Obamacare mandate is a tax. For Obama and his surrogates to deny now that Obamacare is a tax, or to express surprise that the Supreme Court has so held, is beyond disingenuous. Of course, such dishonesty is par for the course for the president and his minions.

[Argus]

Why should Obama and his crew give a damn about the Constitution? There’s nobody to hold them accountable for violating it, so Hussein will do as he damn well pleases. And if he’s re-elected, expect a much greater expansion of his dictatorship.

He didn’t call Chavez his “amigo” for nothing, folks.