Chicago PM Saturday 7 April 2012  

The Voice of the People, Chicago Tribune

Gentlepeople:

The Chicago Tribune Editorial “Fear and Medicare, Round 2” (Thursday 5 April) has a dozen references to the federal government paying for citizen'shealth care, but not a word about where in the US Constitution this is justified.  

General Welfare Clause?   James Madison wrote in Federalist 41   “a specification of the objects alluded to by that phrase [general welfare clause] follows... not even separated by a longer pause than a semicolon.“  Following that semicolon is a list of 17 Congressional powers, from 'borrow money on the credit of the United States' thru 'make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers' ..... but not a sign of health care.

Commerce clause? If “To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes” can be stretched to justify the federal government paying every citizens' medical bills, is there any expense that cannot be justified by the commerce clause?

This situation was not helped by the 1943 Current Tax Payment Act instituting income tax withholding by employers, resulting in 70% of all taxes collected by the federal government coming  from employers' bank accounts, not voters'.  Since employers must write those checks against their bank accounts (They go to jail if they don't)  they just add it to their product cost.  So that 70% comes from a painless national sales tax, but the voter is told he deserves something for it.

If voters were required to send in their income tax payments every month with a check from their personal bank account, they would be more careful of who they voted for to Congress, especially what they were proposing the government do, and how much it would cost the voter.  Maybe call a local insurance agent, representing private sector companies that sell all sorts of health and medical insurance.

Arnold H Nelson  in Chicago ah_nelson@yahoo.com