In the old days the states were more independent and could pass whatever “mandates” they wanted. Then if you didn’t like the laws in Pennsylvania in regard to something that was important, you could move to New Jersey.
The Federal Government has no constitutional authority to issue “mandates” regarding insurance coverage except as it pertains to land under federal jurisdiction.
Frankly from a bleeding heart perspective, if I wanted to abandon my conservative principles, I would favor the Mandate or some way of creating some kind of safety net. The only way to do that and make it work is for the government to be the insurer of last resort. I would favor some kind of fund that is paid through policies or even taxes that would ensure that people who lost their insurance could get coverage for pre-existing conditions without some bankrupting increase in premiums or a waiting period long enough to ensure that you either die or go bankrupt.
Constitutional conservatism is often a heartless way to view life. But the Federal Government was not set up to take money from Peter and give it to Paul. It has become a giant welfare distributor, which it was never intended to be and as a result people rely on the government as a safety net for their own bad choices as well as for unforseen catastrophes.
But the bigger the Federal Government gets, the more tyrannical it becomes. To be honest, I would prefer a policy where everyone is covered whether they want to or not to one in which people are mandated to buy something they don’t want or need. When you don’t need health coverage because you are healthy, it is easy to say that such things as government subsidies and MediCal and other social programs should not exist. But when you find your back to the wall facing bankruptcy or death, then I can understand putting your own welfare above any constitutional principles.
That being said, if I were to pick a candidate that I thought would be looking out for my interests and who had a big heart when it comes to other people’ money, I’d pick Kasich. But right now I have no reason to pick personal welfare over principle, so I will go hard right and go with Cruz.
I frankly don’t trust a word that comes out of Donald Trump’s mouth. He can promise the world, but he won’t deliver. (And he did mean the individual mandate).
As bad as Cruz is, he is the most principled conservative in the race. However, if getting and keeping my health insurance is my primary concern in life at the moment, then I would probably have to go with Kasich. He has a bleeding heart and if I need someone with a bleeding heart, then he would be the go to guy. Trump’s heart bleeds only for him. IMHO.
Don’t you ever sleep?
Dog woke me up to take him out. After a while in the cold air getting back to sleep is as easy reading this cell screen as any other way.