It strikes at a core component of the Affordable Care Act, eliminating the requirement that most people have health coverage or pay a penalty, a move that the Congressional Budget Office projects will increase premiums for people who buy insurance. It also would open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska to oil and gas drilling
Someone explain to me why the shit this is in a tax bill?
I really, really hope this sinks the Repugs in 2018 but I’m not very hopeful right now. People will be thrilled with their meager tax gains not realizing how badly they are being played for suckers.
The individual mandate was originally considered to be valid under the Commerce Clause. That is, since the PPACA was regulating interstate commerce, the Feds had the right to impose a fine for not signing onto an insurance plan.
This case went all the way to the Supreme Court, where it hit a 4-4 deadlock: the liberal justices were cool with the Commerce Clause being used like this, but the conservative justices weren’t. Chief Justice Roberts offered a compromise: it wasn’t a fine, it was a tax, and there is no doubt that Congress has the right to impose taxes. The liberal justices joined on his opinion, and the PPACA was found constitutional.
It was a win for Obama and the Democratic Party, but they could no longer claim that the PPACA did not impose any new taxes (as the mandate was now considered a tax). And now, it seems, that same ruling makes it possible to include a repeal of the mandate in a tax bill.
Reminds me of that article that got posted recently: the one with power is the ‘victim’ for having his integrity questioned, and his supporters use that power to victimize the actually powerless one further.
“Why don’t women come forward sooner?” Having to face stuff like this, it’s a surprise that any come forward at all.
Fuck, especially since the potential downside for Kavanaugh is having to serve on a slightly lower federal court. (Call a waaaambulance.) The potential downside for Ford is that someone might actually fucking murder her or her family, because we know anti-choice lunatics find it completely acceptable to do (see the case of Dr. Tillerson, among others.)
This whole Kavanaugh thing with the whataboutism, flimsy excuses and justifications, and mounting smear campaign on the survivor is such disgusting and gross bullshit. I mean, I’m not the slightest bit surprised. But it’s still disgusting and gross.
I have little doubt that Kavanaugh will get forced through to the court at this point and I hope that if this happens it costs these Republican scumbags dearly.
As a sensitive asthmatic, I’m at the forefront of people affected by pollution, but I think this article shows how imminent our doom is if things don’t change quickly.
This is such bullshit. They know it’s not going to stand. It’s going to get stayed under appeal. I’m not much on the insurance business, but all this is going to do is cause individual people more stress at the holidays, and throw a bomb into financial markets. What else do we expect from President Theatrics?
