TightWind is written by Kyle Baxter. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

With debate going on about whether the individual mandate violates the commerce clause, or is simply a tax, an article I wrote in July seems appropriate:

A tax is an incredibly powerful tool in influencing societal behavior. If the individual mandate, which requires every American to purchase health insurance or be fined, is constitutional, then why can’t Congress tax anyone who doesn’t donate x percentage of their income to charity each year? Why can’t Congress tax companies without unionized labor? Why can’t Congress tax music or filmmakers whose work is deemed indecent or obscene, to discourage their polluting of society?

The government is arguing that the mandate is constitutional because it is a tax, and Congress has wide-ranging powers to levy taxes without review by the courts. If their argument wins, this is as large a threat to liberty as we’ve seen in a long, long while.