"Government Can Force Us to Buy General Motors Products If Obamacare Mandate Upheld in Court"

(CNSNews.com) – Representative Michael Burgess (R-Texas) told CNSNews.com that if the mandate in the health care law requiring individuals to purchase health insurance or be penalized is upheld by the courts, the federal government could mandate anything, such as requiring all Americans to purchase a General Motors car.

On Capitol Hill, CNSNews.com asked Representative Burgess, “The Congressional Budget Office has said that never before in the history of the United States has the federal government mandated that any one buy a specific good or service and, of course, the bill includes the individual mandate. Is there a part of the Constitution that you think gives Congress the authority to mandate individuals to purchase health insurance?”

At his trial, Rearden does not accept the laws he has broken as rational, so he refuses to participate. He sees them as what they are: the manifestation of brute force. The government is able to prosecute him as a criminal only because they have created unjust laws that turn him into one.

Parallels to today? Make laws that are impossible to comply with then you own people.

No, I’m not.

I see no difference between the government forcing us to buy car insurance and the government forcing us to buy health insurance.

Not that I support either one being mandatory, I don’t...I just don’t see that as the linchpin that will get rid of Obamacare.

I see no difference between the government forcing us to buy car insurance and the government forcing us to buy health insurance.

Okay, let’s try. First of all, the government doesn’t make you buy car insurance. You can own a car and drive it all around your own property with no insurance. If, however, you choose to take your car on the public road, you have a responsibility to not unduly endanger the property of others. It’s been stated many times that driving is not a right, but a privilege. There are other responsibilities that go along with choosing to drive on the public roads, such as obtaining and maintaining a valid driver license, which you must get from the state for a fee. You must also pay to maintain your car at a certain minimal operating level. The state may make you, as part of your decision to drive your car on the public roads, protect the other individual against your possible recklessness. In the State of Tennessee, the government does not force you to buy insurance to satisfy this condition. You do, however, have to provide proof of financial responsibility in the event of an accident. Usually, that is liability insurance, but it can be a bond purchased for such an event. The insurance is not mandatory as a condition of citizenship, it is a choice. If you choose to drive and not purchase a bond, then you must purchase minimal liability insurance.

The other difference is that the insurance is not to protect your car in the event of an accident, but rather to protect the other driver. You are free to drive without collision or comprehensive insurance if you choose. You are only risking your own pocketbook. The requirement for proof of financial responsibility is to keep you from risking someone else’s pocketbook as well.

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