Obamacare Jail

Different Stripes

How silly can this get? The normally clear thinking Sen. Tom Coburn, you'll remember, went asshat a while back, sounding "like a' Kumbaya' minstrel in a Soho sub-station"  [Coburn bashes Fox, praises Pelosi].   Senator Tom charged specifically that FNC had falsely warned that Obamacare carried with it a threat of jail-time for the non-compliant.  He appeared on the O'Reilly show a few days later, whence the host made this statement. “ "We researched to find out if anybody on Fox News had ever said you're going to jail if you don't buy health insurance. Nobody's ever said it." - Bill O'Reilly ” One of those "media fact-checkers" (St. Petersburg Times) · , citing Media-Matters fer chrisake, decided to arbitrate, and came to this conclusion.  O'Reilly misspoke; Coburn was right. “ So, it turns out that several Fox shows mentioned the possibility of jail. Some examples: • Paul Gigot, Oct. 3, 2009: "If you don't pay up, the IRS could punish you with a $25,000 fine or a year in jail." • Greg Mueller, a guest being interviewed by Sean Hannity, Nov. 10, 2009: "They're going to put all these people in jail." • Andrew Napolitano, Nov. 10, 2009: "If you don't buy just what they say is right for you, the government may fine you, prosecute you, and even put you in jail." • Glenn Beck, Nov. 12, 2009: "There has got to be some way to force everybody to have health care, right? It is jail." ” Oh my.  But, guess what, besides who gives a rat's-ass?  Doesn't every law passed, at any level, ultimately carry with it a death penalty, forget jail time, if you don't comply?  "But Rodge, you getting killed in a shoot-out with the police had nothing to do with not paying a parking ticket.  It was because  ... - oh."  I'm not arguing that I have the right to ignores laws, just that jail is a penultimate consequence. Being a bit more realistic, go to a federal correctional facility and ask for a show of hands by those incarcerated for evading some tax, or EPA law, or possessing an eagle feather.    Obamacare funds the hiring of 16,000 IRS enforcers. 1+1 and Kumbaya, mofo. UPDATE: After rereading this post I feel it needs some clarification.  Under Obamacare law, Americans who can afford health insurance but refuse to buy it will face a fine of up to $695 or 2.5% of their income, whichever is higher. As things stand, the IRS will in 2014 be charged with collecting the fines -  but will not have the power to seek jail time.  The agency's only tool is to to withhold refunds from taxpayers who decline to pay the penalty. So, just make sure you don't overpay withholding tax, something you should be doing anyway, and give them the finger.  That smoke-and- mirror amendment, BTW, was added at the last minute to counter the very charges made above, in 2009.    I'll argue that a law without any enforcement provision, is not law, and will be - must be - changed before 2014.