perfidy

I've been thinking about this a bit, and while I can see certain tactical advantages for those who oppose Obama - this strikes me as on the whole entirely bad. Despite the decline in trust in our public institutions, the Supreme Court remains prestigious, and it has leant its imprimatur to a staggeringly bad policy. I can imagine the Republicans using this as a whipping horse, and it may help them retake the presidency, and possibly even the Senate (though almost certainly not a filibuster-proof majority...) Once again in power - how does this go away? If it had been struck down in its entirety, which we were apparently one vote away from doing, we could have a) done something sensible for once - unlikely in the extreme, b) done something marginally less stupid - moderately likely, or c) done nothing at all - also moderately likely. Option C would likely be best - we could have edged stepwise to better solutions like what Singapore has, or toward a more purely market solution, or even just reforming the most egregious abuses around the edges. But with Obamacare still in place, we have to hope that 535 self-involved, semi- to completely corrupt psychopaths will see it in their own best interest to remove something that is already a fait accompli. The badness is really intense. Consider:

1. We are already throwing money onto the fire at a ridiculous rate. This one program alone will add a minimum of a trillion dollars to the burn rate.
2. We are now for all intents and purposes going to be paying taxes to private entities. Remember how tax collectors were regarded in the New Testament?
3. It establishes a precedent for even greater government tentacle - your ass interface. The IRS will be watching whether you are paying the insurance company, and come down on you with all it's famed respect and care for the individual. Given their regard for due process, this is going to be fun.
4. The effect on jobs - are you going to start a new company when you might - in addition to all the normal risks - be subject to tax evasion if you let your insurance lapse?
5. The general fuckedupedness of the whole thing. The problem with our health care system is that patients are not the customers. You are spending (psychologically) someone else's money for your health care. More tests? Why the fuck not? Insurance covers it. Doctors and patients are marginalized. Try and find out how much something medical costs before they do it. I dare you. Obamacare not only does nothing to address this or other problems, it adds to them. The only 'positive' thing is that more people have coverage. Everything else is nightmarish.
6. The Supreme Court ruling basically gives the gubmint all the justification it needs to construe any behavior-modification scheme as a 'tax' and know that it will fly. The commerce clause is dead, long live the tax power! Granted that the constitution is mostly dead, this gives them a fig leaf the size of Rush Limbaugh's gut. Which is altogether too big.

I could go on. But this is bad, and it will all end in fire.

[wik]

[sub-wik] original image died a lonely death somewhere in the vasty depths of the internets. So, begin your guided visualization of what once was here with this starter meme template: 

[alsø wik]

[alsø alsø wik] Through the magic of the Wayback Machine, I have recovered the original image that was lost: