28 June 2012

Another Way to Slice It: "Do as You're Told. Shut Up, Sit Down, or Pay a Tax

I don't often like to quote Chief Neocon (as Lew Rocwell calls him) Rush Limbaugh on political issues, but he hits very near the cream today. His most telling phrase, "people we hope mean it when they say they're going to repeal it," is the very Achilles heel of his position. From his website:

The Court Rules: Obamacre is the Largest Tax Increase in the History of the World

... And we, the American people, have just been deceived in ways that nobody contemplated. And what we now have is the biggest tax increase in the history of the world. What we have been told by the chief justice of the Supreme Court and four liberals on the court: Obamacare is just a massive tax increase. That's all it is. Obama lied to us about that. The Democrats lied. "It wasn't a tax. There was no way it was a tax."

The chief justice was hell-bent to find a way to make this law applicable, so he just decided, you know what, as a tax increase, it works, because there's no limit on the federal government's ability to tax. And it's right there in the preamble of the Constitution, right there, Article 1, Section 8, the general welfare clause, it's been established Congress can tax whatever, whoever, whenever, how much they want. Even when they don't ask for it, the Supreme Court is gonna find a way to make what they want to do legal because John Roberts said it's not our job here to forbid this. It's not our job to protect people from outcomes. It's not our job to determine whether it is right or wrong or any of that. We just get to look at it. We can't forbid this. This is what the elected representatives of the people want.

No, the elected representatives of the people were deceived. [...]The mandate's unconstitutional, but the court has decided it's a tax, and therefore it's okay.

[...]The chief justice of the United States Supreme Court, John Roberts, said, "It is not our job to protect the people from the consequences of their political choices." Not our job.

Well, what about when we are deceived? The court upheld a law that was not what we were told it would be. What has been upheld here is fraud, and the Internal Revenue Service has just become Barack Obama's domestic army. That is what we face now. We were deceived. Obamacare was a lie. It was a stealth tax on all Americans, and nobody knew it until today. Not officially. [...]

[...]It was a lie. We were all deceived. You can call it a tax; you can call it a fine. No matter. You can say it's a power of the Commerce Clause or not. No matter. What happened today is all that matters. And what happened today is that we were bludgeoned with a tax that requires us to do as the government mandates. We must do what they say.


The Supreme Court told us today that this is a tax. So our health insurance premiums essentially are a tax. There's no limit here! What if insurance companies want to tax us for not buying a new car? It is a stealth tax, and that's what it was all along. It's a massive behavior-modification program. Either behave as directed or suffer the loss of private property. If you don't buy what the government tells you to buy, you're going to be taxed. You're going to fined. So even without the Commerce Clause, the federal government can virtually dictate what we do with our so-called private property.

The administration and the Congress said, "No, it's not a tax!" Arguing before the court, they said, "No, it's not a tax!" Then a couple of whispers, "Yes, it is a tax." The chief justice says (paraphrased), "I can't forbid this. It's not our job to protect the people from the consequences of their political choices. I gotta find a way. Congress wants this, so I gotta find a way to make it happen. Okay, we'll call it a tax, and that makes it perfectly legal." So today the sovereign nature of the individual wasn't just weakened; it was eviscerated.

Between the Arizona and Obamacare decisions, America is a very different concept than it was just a week ago.[...]

So now we look forward to November.

November is the chance to get rid of the people who did this, and then put in place people we hope mean it when they say they're going to repeal it. That's it, folks. That is all that remains. Because, as of today, the American government can and will seize your private property if you don't purchase and/or sell what's been ordered. It's really breathtaking, what happened today. And it is breathtaking to watch ignoramuses who don't really understand what happened celebrate it. We have been betrayed and deceived by Congress. We have been betrayed and deceived by the Supreme Court.

"Do as you're told! Shut up, sit down, or pay a tax."


ATW said...

If it's a tax, does that undercut the Catholic school/hospital/charity argument that they should not be required to pay for services that are immoral or sinful? We all have to pay taxes and sometimes the money is used for immoral or sinful purposes.

In that regard, I don't ever recall reading that the early Christians objected to paying taxes to the pagan empire. Certainly some of that tax money was spent on immoral and sinful activities.

Mt question is this: Is this a case of rendering to Caesar what is Caesar's even if we don't like it?

Fr. Andrew said...

I'm just a poor priest who hates, abhors, and shuns politics. Leviathan is just too darn big for me and my arguments, but not for Jesus Christ, who attacks the body of Leviathan one cell at a time. So, let me ask a question.

Could you clarify your initial statement before the RL quote? Are you just expressing your doubt/pessimism that the satiated members of Leviathan will actually overturn the policy makers? If so, I agree with you. If not, could you clarify?

Leviathan is an apt biblical image, scholars think that the leviathan was a hippopotamus: large and lazily floating in the water. Just like consumer capitalist America.

Praised be Jesus Christ.

Anonymous said...


And to paraphrase for your Papal pals, here:

"Do as you're told! Shut up, sit down, or be excommunicated."

At least you're consistent, Timmy


Anonymous said...

I hope your checkbook follows your head here.
Missouri ranks 6th from the bottom in the actual expenditures that insurance companies pay for actual health coverage. The new law says that they can "ONLY" make 20% profit a year, and therefore, almost all Missourians with health insurance will get rebates, as early as this September.
So, can we presume that this reverse tax is wrong too, so that you'll be sending that check back to the CE), because this year his bonus might be UNDER $25,000,000?

Thorn in your side

Anonymous said...

BTW, Rush was saying that this would be "the largest tax increase in the world." Interesting - the GAO claims that financially, it'll remain a whitewash - except to the formerly highly profitable insurance companies.

And Mitt Romney's proposed tax cuts will be three times as expensive as the Affordable Care Act. But of course, if you had a $100 million contract with your radio station like Rush does, plus millions in endorsements and millions from giving speaches, and if you only have empathy for yourself and other billionaires, then of course having to give up some of your "hard earned money" might be problematic. Funny that a conservative site like this would take to quoting a thrice-divorced, illegal-drug dealing addict, and bigot, as a legitimate source for 'news.' Will you start quoting from Stalin, Hitler, and Ghengis Khan to "prove" other points too?

Just Curious

thetimman said...

I love leftists. What is the destruction of the foundational law of the nation to the opportunity to soak the rich? Fight the power!

Anonymous said...

I love right wing nut jobs.
They're so predictable.
They have this absolute love the rich, and even think that they have a chance of becoming one of them. As if suddenly you'll win a lawsuit and pocket $60 billion.

They'll cry Rep Boehner's crocodile tears when they think how someon earning $125 million a year is "getting soaked" and having to pay his fair share of taxes, but then have this bitter hatred of the poor for being poor.

Class warfare has never been an issue of the poor rising up - it always begins with the rich hating the poor.

Seriously, during Jesus's time, who did he favor, and why? Who did he sit with - who were his friends? (Oh, never mind, that'd require you to actually step away from bad cliches and be reflective - a huge no-no. "Must continue to bash those that threaten my way of thinking...
Rich = good, smiley face, Apple pie.
Poor = bad, stinky, Socialists.")