Let’s say at some point liberals take over both houses of Congress and the White House, a frightening but perfectly reasonable assumption. And let’s say in their liberal wisdom they decide that for the good of the environment, for the good of the country, and for the good of the planet, everyone who drives a car should drive an electric vehicle. Because of the recent Supreme Court ruling, Congress cannot require us to buy electric cars, but it can punish us if we don’t. It can levy a tax if we choose not to go electric; if we choose to drive a car fueled by gasoline instead.
And the tax can constitutionally be as high as Congress wants to make it. In essence, the liberal lawmakers would be saying: Hey, we can’t force you to do the “right” thing, but we can make it pretty uncomfortable if you don’t. Or to put it another way, the liberal lawmakers can make us an offer we can’t refuse.
Or what if Congress decides that every house in America should have solar panels on the roof. It’s not fair, the legislators might reason, that some Americans incur the expense of being good environmental citizens while others choose to spend their money on something else. But since they can’t make us install solar panels, they could pass a law saying those who choose not to go green, will be taxed a certain (substantial) percentage of their household income.
And liberals might say that no one needs a big house. So, first, they would establish commissions and exchanges to define “big” based on the number of people living in the house, then they could pass laws that says anyone who builds a house greater than the allowed square footage, will be taxed on every foot over the limit.
How about fat people? Being overweight, the liberal lawmakers might say, is not good for the fat person and not good for anyone else in America, since being overweight contributes to diabetes and a bunch of other diseases that cost a lot of money to treat. What to do? Here’s an idea: Since Congress can’t look to the Commerce Clause in order to force anyone to join a health club, it could use its taxing authority to levy a tax on anyone who’s overweight who won’t join.
Before you say, “This is crazy, Congress would never do any of those things,” remember that a Democratically-controlled Congress has already passed a nearly 3000-page law that regulates healthcare in America – and that doesn’t count the tens of thousands of pages of rules and regulations that are right now being written. If Congress can do that, how hard would it be to pass laws that “encourage” us to buy electric cars, solar panels and join health clubs?
Normally I’d add a quip — eg., please pass the Soma! — but I don’t want to give progressives any ideas about taxing unflattering speech critical of their agenda. Which they’d simply label as an “anti-hate speech” tax — and note that they aren’t overriding the First Amendment, just encouraging its more judicious use.
Nudge nudge.
Forward!
(h/t TerryH)
No, look.
Orrin Hatch confirmed Cass Sunstein on the basis that all that nudge stuff was just an academic exercise.
(Or was that the death-panel guy who wrote the paper on how to decide who gets the heart transplant?)
Either way, our GOP senators in their high Senate committee positions have been looking out for us all along, so this hysteria is singularly unhelpful.
You want to know a close analog of this whole “tax whip you into line” game? Jizya. We can’t make you choose to be muslim, but we sure can slap a dhimmi tax on you and make your life hell until you “freely decide” to be what they decide you should be.
Gosh, I wonder how the concept jumped the culture chasm to Congress?
The parasites are not going to stop until they have destroyed the host.
Plan accordingly.
Great, a whole Congress full of Mayor Bloombergs. Who could of seen that coming?
You want to know a close analog of this whole “tax-whip you into line” game? Jizya.
I was thinking that same thing: you don’t HAVE to do X, but if you don’t, you’ll pay through the nose.
I do believe that I am going to opt out.
Here’s an article that seems to fit.
Or have Congress establish a commission to establish a “fairness standard” for broadcast television, cable tv, radio, and internet blogs. If you don’t meet the “fairness standard”, you can be
penalizedtaxed based on every point you fall outside the range.Only problem is that liberals will not soon hold a majority in EITHER chamber and nobody is interested in passing a law that levies a “tax” on fat people for not joining a gym.
The idea that this new found tax power is going to be used at all, let alone abused, is a complete myth.
The idea that this new found tax power is going to be used at all, let alone abused, is a complete myth.
i hear gay “marriage” was all the rage in the 1980’s
Just two and a half years ago, Republicans were a party to be in exile for the next 40 years. And the federal government wasn’t in charge of health care 4 years ago.
good news
Today in Circuit Court, Brett Kimberlin Lost and the First Amendment Won…
…and the Army of Davids is scary!
“complete myth”
Are you f’ing kidding me? Do you think the Repubs don’t want to try out the Ring of Power? Best reexamine human nature.
“Complete myth.”
Hugh, is that you?
Roscoe Filburn, white courtesy phone. Roscoe Filburn, white courtesy phone.
Nobody was interested in taxing tobacco, transfats, corn syrup in carbonated water either.
Until they were.
Then it should be easy-peasy to pass a law declaring Congress doesn’t have the power to tax inactivity. Since no one’s interested in even using this power, they must not want it, right?
– The fleecing of America’s ‘green’ continues unabated.
– Thank you Senator Reid.
I don’t believe in complete myths
– That will definately cost you some increase in your taxes feets. Can’t have people running around practicing “unbelievers inactivity”.
– Of course you can opt out as long as you pay up.
French toast, another incomplete myth.
i used to believe in bluetooth audio til I rebooted and it disappeared like our right not to buy a stupid goddamn insurance policy
– You still have “a right not to buy a stupid goddamn insurance policy”.
– You simply now have to pay for your rights, so its a penalty, not a tax, except its a tax when you complaon its an unconstitutional penalty, and its a penalty if you complain its an unconstitutional tax.
– If you complain its both at the same time, they will point and laugh at you for calling a levy a tax/penalty, and then they’ll take your money anyway.
“sean trende” says I’m a big stupidhead and if I’m less free cause of the whimsical caprice of a vain and shallow harvard trash constitution pervert it’s probably my own damn fault for not living right
but I swear to god I been living right I recycle and everything
– The Left needs the money to support all the #Occupy freeloaders and pay all the bribes to the minorities they promised them to buy their votes and to get elected, and so they don’t start rioting and burning the inner cities.
– Whatever they don’t hand out in voter bribes they’ll use to keep proping up green failures.
– Win win,,,, Forward!
“Only problem is that liberals will not soon hold a majority in EITHER chamber and nobody is interested in passing a law that levies a “tax” on fat people for not joining a gym.”
Oh yeah?
Today we drive tiny expensive fuel efficient cars with expensive ethanol enriched(diluted) gasoline that messes up our engines. How many of us ever wanted that?
Today schools are talking semi-seriously about getting rid of football because players can get hurt. How many of us wanted that?
Salt and Soda are virtually controlled substances in New York City now. Who wanted that?
Credit bureaus decide what firms are worth at any given moment based on their assets and influence their ability to borrow money or sell equity. They can do the same for the whole US finance system. Who wanted that ?
We are in debt up to our unborn great grandkid’s tits. Who wanted that?
The US owns most of the land. They control the rest of it via the EPA and lawsuits from “environmentalist” groups. Fighting those suits is an astronomical expense. Who wanted that?
We are tossing away a huge fortune on coal, gas and petroleum energy to chase wind dragons and sun bunnies. Who wanted that?
The enthanol is a fuel movement has food prices high and getting higher every day. Who wanted that?
A good chunk of the middle class is under employed or unemployed, jobs are hard to come by, student loans are done strictly through the guarantees of the government, they are now magical loans free from normal bankruptcy procedures, the cost of a college education is way up and the money value of it is down, and personal credit is tight. Who wanted that?
Iran still has a nuclear weapon and is still rattling cages. The Middle East just got more militantly islamic. Russia likes it. Who the hell wanted that ?
A supreme court chief justice just sold out the constitution and made Republicans and tea party people look like chumps so the NYT might pretend to like him for a week. Now taxation is the new food of the gods for the government. Who wanted that?
The president is, with the help of a press turned cornball PR machine, contemptuously stonewalling congress in investigation of a gun smuggling operation run and protected by the Feds that killed a lot of people and appears to serve no purpose beyond backing some anti 2nd amendment rhetoric intended to move policy away from support of gun rights. The president is blocking border enforcement because he doesn’t like it, he wants more hispanic and possibly illegal votes, and he thinks the border is kind of racist. He is deciding not to prosecute and deport illegal aliens because he doesn’t want to. Who wanted that?
I don’t think people not wanting stuff has been much of a barrier to it happening with sickening regularity.
– Look at the bright side palaeo. In msny of the cases you cite, the redulant citizens who don’t want to ‘cooperate’ can now be taxed for “non-activity”.
– So at least we have that going for them.
is a complete myth
I’m hip.
*thhhhhhhhhhhhhwp*
People do not speak of “green failures” in the White House these days because the President tends to get all defensive about his putting game.
Are you a moby? The only myth I’m seeing here is your belief that you’re somehow even remotely conservative.
Honestly, do you think Congress won’t find a way to use this new found taxing power? Really? That’s what you think? Particularly now that they can hide the fact that it’s a tax? But even aside from that, you don’t see the problem with them being granted the power to begin with?
You’re at the wrong site, dude. We’re most of us a little less trusting of polished panders than you are.
“The idea that this new found tax power is going to be used at all, let alone abused, is a complete myth.”
The old saying has a powerful corollary:
When you get your hands on a hammer, suddenly you start seeing nails everywhere.
“The idea that this new found tax power is going to be used at all, let alone abused, is a complete myth…….and these are not the droids you are looking for so you can move along now since everything is fine,”
If you’re trapped in a crooked game, sometimes the only way out is to kick over the table.