Is it a “tax” or not a “tax”? The original understanding
On September 8 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit dismissed two suits challenging Obamacare without ever reaching the merits. In the case brought by the Commonwealth of Virginia, the court held that Virginia did not have standing to challenge the insurance mandate on individuals. In the case brought by Liberty University, the […]
II Submits Brief Destroying Basis for Suit against Colorado’s Taxpayer Bill of Rights
The Independence Institute, through Dave Kopel as legal counsel, has submitted an amicus curiae (“friend of the court”) brief opposing the lawsuit to overturn Colorado’s Taxpayer Bill of Rights. The brief destroys the plaintiffs’ claim that by allowing citizens to vote on tax increases, Colorado is violating the U.S. Constitution’s requirement that all states have […]
The latest Obamacare case was wrong to uphold Medicaid expansion—Part II
On August 12, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit struck down Obamacare’s mandate that individuals buy insurance, but upheld the Medicaid mandates imposed on states. As I already have explained, the Medicaid ruling was wrong under the Constitution’s original meaning. In this post, I explain why the ruling also is incorrect even […]
The latest Obamacare case was wrong to uphold Medicaid expansion—Part I
As noted in my last post, on August 12 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit struck down as unconstitutional the Obamacare mandate that citizens purchase health insurance. However, the Court upheld the law’s massive expansion of the Medicaid program. Medicaid—part the 1960s “Great Society” mishmash now so widely understood to be a […]
Yet Another Court Voids Obamacare’s Insurance Mandates
On August 12, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit held that the insurance mandate in the “Obamacare” health control law is unconstitutional. The Court ruled that the mandate exceeded Congress’s Commerce Power, and was not a “tax” under Congress’s Taxation Power. The ruling came in State of Florida v. U.S. Dept. […]
Confused About an Article V Amendments Convention? New Article Provides Answers
As I predicted in this column, Congress’s continued inability to deal effectively with the debt crisis is AGAIN provoking interest in bypassing Congress with one or more corrective constitutional amendments. We could do this if the state legislatures use their constitutional power to bring about what the Constitution calls a “convention for proposing amendments.” I’m […]
Debt deal shows once more that Congress can’t do the job
The latest debt deal illustrates Congress’s utter inability to deal with the mess it has gotten itself into. As more and more Americans realize this, pressure will build for an interstate “convention for proposing amendments” to solve the problem. (The Constitution authorizes the state legislatures to force an interstate convention for this purpose.) Here’s where […]
Can the President Raise the Debt Limit Unilaterally? Hell no!
Some people are claiming that if Congress fails to raise the debt limit, the President can raise it himself unilaterally. The claim is not only wrong, but far scarier for America’s future than a default would be. Typical of those arguing this way is Bruce Bartlett, the formerly conservative economist who in recent years has […]
The Unintended Constitutional Mistakes of “Cut, Cap, and Balance”
When you write a constitutional amendment, the devil is in the details. “Cut, Cap, and Balance” prescribed some details for a Balanced Budget Amendment (BBA). But those details were poorly thought-out, and might have given America a devil of a problem. Fortunately, Senate liberals—too short-term greedy to recognize their own long-term political interest—defeated Cut, Cap, […]
The greatly misunderstood Chief Justice John Marshall
One of the most enduring myths in American constitutional history is that Chief Justice John Marshall was a judicial activist whose decisions are good precedent for the modern federal monster state. Marshall was the fourth chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (third, if you don’t count John Rutledge, a recess appointment who was never […]
Reining in Congress: An Enforceable Balanced Budget Amendment
There is growing sentiment that one or more constitutional amendments may be necessary to rein in the runaway Congress. The principal mechanism the Founders built into the Constitution for such contingencies is the procedure in Article V by which two thirds of the state legislatures force what the Constitution calls a “Convention for proposing Amendments.” […]
The 1798 “Act for the Relief of Sick and Disabled Seamen:” Yet another “progessive” irrelevancy
As Tom Woods points out on his blog, advocates of Obamacare have dug up a 1798 federal statute that, they say, shows that the original understanding of the Constitution is broad enough to authorize federal health care programs. The statute authorized creation of federal hospitals for sailors. After I entered a brief response to his […]
