Government Gets Weaker as it Gains More Power

After a couple days of layman's analysis and digestion of others' assessments, I am standing by my initial reaction to the Supreme Court ruling on the Affordable Care Act. The ruling in effect says that while the Government cannot "make" you purchase insurance, it can penalize you for your failure to make that purchase, in the form of a tax. Legally, the Government cannot mandate your choices, but apparently it can levy a punitive tax on the choice you make. And it is all constitutional, so says the Court.

In many ways, this is nothing new. Gasoline has taxes that are paid by those who choose to drive. Alcohol has taxes paid by those who choose to drink. Smokers are taxed based on their choice to purchase tobacco. There are taxes everywhere, based on the consumption choices we make. Only now, we can be taxed by choosing not to consume.

Theoretically, we can now be taxed based on our non-participation in just about anything.

I can't remember where I read the following thought, so forgive me for not properly citing the reference, but in essence someone wrote that modern jurisprudence (the last 100 years or so) has perverted the original intent of the Constitution, which was designed to ensure the protection of our natural rights - those universal and unalienable rights that we have by virtue of our existence and sentience - against the potential tyranny of governments. In other words, the Constitution was established to ensure our liberty as citizens from overly oppressive forms of government. In the modern era, however, the Constitution is being interpreted to allow creative social engineering that involves the expansion of "rights" to include the wants, desires, and needs of special interests within our society for the common good (entitlements). The problem is that these views are in conflict with one another. There is no protection of an individual's right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness when the Government actively and/or punitively intrudes on the individual's choices.

More and more, I'm coming to the conclusion that the more power the Government gains (power over its citizens), the weaker it actually becomes. Weaker in the sense that the system of governance we've celebrated for over 223 years no longer holds dear to the principles upon which it was founded. And for this republic, that's dangerous, because it means the American Experiment is coming to an end. The intellectual, philosophical and moral foundations that gave birth to America are fading into antiquity. That makes us weaker, even though on the surface the government appears stronger.

I cannot help but to think Roberts and this court took a sledgehammer to what will turn out to be a load-bearing wall. Decline is not inevitable. But what happens next, as it always does, depends on the choices we make.

Just be ready for the inevitable tax if you choose poorly.