JUSTICE KENNEDY: “And the government tells us that’s because the insurance market is unique. And in the next case, it’ll say the next market is unique. But I think it is true that if most questions in life are matters of degree, in the insurance and health care world, both markets — stipulate two markets — the young person who is uninsured is uniquely proximately very close to affecting the rates of insurance and the costs of providing medical care in a way that is not true in other industries.
Kennedy is desparately searching for some ‘limiting principle’ to carve out health care as a unique situation that would not give the government broad mandate powers in other areas, but of course, that cannot work. The government would use the mandate as a precedent and claim that it must mandate an action in another industry on the grounds that the other industry is unique also.
So if wealthy people buy expensive homes, the government could mandate rich people not be allowed to buy expensive homes because more resources will be spent on expensive homes which reduces the production of cheaper homes. The reduction of the availability of cheaper homes in the market increases the price for poorer people that can only aford cheaper, smaller homes. Solution, mandate a limit on spending on a home.
Maybe they’re afraid if they vote against obama the Black Panther Party will put out a bounty on them.