Unconstitutional Healthcare Bill

Government is instated to protect the rights of its individual citizens. Individuals have rights and individual rights end when they infringe on the rights of another. This is a simple concept that is the basis for most of our laws. I believe all rights are based on property rights. You own yourself not anybody else; all other rights derive from this. Somebody claiming the right to you or your labor without your permission is what we call that slavery.

One of our rights is the right to travel. In general in the US the primary means to exercise this right is the automobile. Since the routine consequence of exercising the right to travel, if exercised using a car, is the destruction of somebody else’s property, state governments rightly requires individuals to show proof that they can compensate other individuals for the destruction of that property. We call this proof insurance. Auto-insurance before driving a car is a logical protection of individual rights. Since it is not within the constitutional authority of the US government to require such insurance, there is no federal law requiring auto-insurance. Under the 10th amendment, that power is reserved to the states, so the protection of individual property rights from abuse by people exercising their right to travel, is accomplished by state requirements for auto-insurance.

The new healthcare bill has some very blatant unconstitutional provisions. How is requiring everybody to purchase health insurance constitutional. Again individuals have rights and individual rights end when they infringe on the rights of another. Not choosing to purchase individual health insurance does not infringe upon any other individuals rights.

You as the owner of yourself have a right to travel, to move your body from one place to another without government permission; you don’t have a right to use destroy other people’s property. State governments reasonably require you drive on public property or get permission to drive on private property, that you prove you know how to operate a vehicle, and can compensate others if your operating a motor vehicle infringes on their rights. Exercising this right generally requires you to have a vehicle. For your vehicle to function it requires fuel; you do not have the right to force others to provide you with fuel so you can travel. To function a vehicle requires maintenance and repairs, the better you maintain a vehicle and repair it the longer it will function optimally, you do not have the right to force someone else to maintain or repair your vehicle.

You as the owner of yourself have a right to life, the most important right you have, and there are and should be severe penalties for infringing on this right. For your life to function it requires food; you do not have the right to force others to provide you with food so you can live. To function a life requires maintenance and repairs, the better you maintain your body and repair it the longer it will function optimally, you do not have the right to force someone else to maintain or repair your body. You do not have a right to the goods and services of another without paying for them, including health services.

As an individual I didn’t get health insurance until I was in my mid 40’s, I paid for broken bones, birth of a child, asthma attacks, prescriptions, and doctors visits all with my own money not insurance. I shopped around when I needed a doctor’s service and changed doctors when I could receive the same service for substantially less money. Over the course of 20 years compared to purchasing health insurance through my employer I saved over $25,000 dollars. I was young healthy and took care of myself and my family, I didn’t go to the doctor for every cold (they are caused by virus’ and it takes 10 days, rest and plenty of fluids to get over them, so why pay a doctor to tell you that). I’m sorry but with a young family I’m sure that I not the government knew better what to do with that $25,000 than they did. I had health care I just didn’t have health insurance. There are around 22 million people who are young healthy and make more than $50K per year who choose not to purchase health insurance. They are not without health care. They weigh the risks and compare them to the costs, and choose to be responsible for themselves; the risk is small, and the savings huge. Their choice does not infringe upon the rights of any other individual. By what constitutional or moral authority can we force somebody to purchase health insurance if they choose not to? If you don’t have health insurance it doesn’t infringe on anybody else’s right to life, liberty, or property.