Some have argued that it does not matter whether the individual mandate is a constitutional exercise of the power to regulate “commerce . . . among the several states” because the mandate — or, more properly, the penalty for failing to comply with the requirement to obtain health insurance — is within Congress’ power to […]
Archive | Taxing and Spending Clause
“Federalist Society Types” Were Committed to Judicial Enforcement of Federalism Long Before Obamacare
By Ilya Somin on March 25, 2010 10:46 pm in Commerce Clause, Federalism, Federalist Society, Health Care, Taxing and Spending Clause
University of Colorado Law Professor Paul Campos decries what he calls “the recent conversion of so many Federalist Society types to the virtues of aggressive judicial review of legislative enactments” in the wake of the enactment of Obamacare. Campos’ claim of a “recent conversion” could hardly be more wrong. If there’s one thing that most […]
President Obama Claimed that the Individual Mandate is Not a Tax
As I discussed in this post, some academic defenders of the health care bill’s insurance mandate claim that it is constitutional as an exercise of Congress’ power to tax. That argument has been advanced by by prominent scholars such as Jack Balkin, Vik Amar (in a recent debate with me), and others. It may therefore […]