Ah, Obamacare. A topic of great sound and fury.

To the everlasting surprise of many, myself included, the Supreme Court recently decided to uphold the law in its entirety.

Why is this a surprise?

It was my assumption that, at the very least, the law would be sent back for revisions on the point of the individual mandate. The mandate states that all individuals are required to have healthcare.

Now granted, I’ve heard arguments both ways. “Those who don’t have healthcare are a drain on the system” is a popular one; the other side, and the one I hold, is that it should not be legal for the government to force a private individual to buy a product in any situation that doesn’t directly affect the well being of citizens.

Wait, I can hear someone thinking — “But doesn’t the lack of insurance hurt the family of the one who doesn’t have it?”

Well, yeah. But if someone needs it and doesn’t have it, that’s usually due either to a sudden act of God or a lack of affordability.

So … healthcare should be affordable — check. Great, the bill handles that. But then it turns around and makes it illegal to not have it. But hey, the Court ruled. Conversation over. Let’s all get on with our lives. Stop whining, you stupid journalist.

One problem: Didn’t mandating car insurance result in really cheap, really bad car insurance that customers buy just to have car insurance?

I mean, how many commercials does the average person see for car insurance every week? Betcha lots. And of those, maybe a third are for reputable companies represented by a gecko, a perky saleswoman, or a comforting African-American (with an option on random mayhem.)

The rest are for “get legal for less” companies which is fine when it’s a hunk of metal, plastic and glass on the line. Yes, losing a car hurts, but they’re replaceable. Now sit back and imagine the “get legal for less” principle applied to cancer treatment. Or diabetes.

Or heck, think about those sudden emergencies that no one can plan for that put individuals thousands of dollars in the hole without notice or warning.

But that’ll never happen, right? Our government regulates things so well. Things like banks, investment funds, auto sales, car insurance, federal budgets …

Yeah, I for one plan to get decent insurance as fast as humanly possible — and pray to never be broke.

—Jeremy Cloud

Editor

To contact Jeremy Cloud, email editor@occc.edu.