Reply #23: I know a friend who teaches in a private school. [View All]

Her employer does not provide health insurance, not for her. not for her family. She is in her late 50s. Her husband is in her early 60s and they have two children in high school. They can afford insurance for the children, but they cannot afford it for themselves -- not on her salary. He is unemployed at the moment. Should they buy insurance or food? That is their choice. They live in a rented apartment that is cramped and depressing. They share an old car. They are typical of the silent America right now.

People will buy into health insurance when they can afford it. They cannot afford it at today's prices.

And I assure you, the government cannot afford to subsidize health care for all the people who need it, not as long as the insurance companies are allowed to take a fourth of the premium money to spend as they wish.

Mandated health insurance works if you have a mechanism to control costs. It will not work if private insurance companies are setting the rates. Besides, where in the Constitution does it say that the government can force individual Americans to buy anything from any private individual, corporation or company?

Car insurance is another issue because you have a choice to go without a car. To require every individual in America to pay a premium to a private insurance company is simply unconstitutional. Congress does not have the authority to do that. It could tax Americans and contract with private insurance companies to provide medical services with the tax money, but it cannot force Americans to buy the insurance. What if someone who is self-employed refuses to pay the fine? They cannot be placed in prison for that. We do not permit a debtors' prison. And if you are self-employed, you pay quarterly taxes. Some person will get mad enough to take to to the Supreme Court. I won't do it, but someone will.