Quick Fact: Beck still falsely claiming you "go to jail" for not having health insurance under bill
Glenn Beck is still falsely claiming that Americans face jail time as a penalty for failure to buy insurance under the House health care bill.
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From the November 13 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor:
O'REILLY: Couldn't they do [liposuction] at the same time [as your appendectomy]?
BECK: No, they wouldn't. No. I don't have universal health care.
O'REILLY: Well you will soon.
BECK: Or I'll go to jail.
O'REILLY: Are you going to be a conscientious objector to health care?
BECK: You know, this is the first time in history in our country where, just to be a citizen, just to not go to jail, you have to buy something.
Fact: Penalty for failure to purchase insurance is a tax, not jail time.
As Media Matters noted, the reporter's question to Pelosi was based on a false talking point. Section 501 of the House health care reform bill provides that an individual must be "covered by acceptable coverage at all times." "Acceptable coverage" includes "qualified health benefits plan coverage," "grandfathered health insurance coverage," "Medicare," "Medicaid," coverage provided to members of the armed forces and their dependents, "coverage under the veteran's health care program," people who receive health care "through the Indian Health Service," or other coverage deemed acceptable by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. If a person does not have acceptable health care coverage, Section 501 imposes a tax on that person "not to exceed the applicable national average premium."
Fact: Willful failure to pay taxes of any sort can result in civil or criminal penalties
A press release by Rep. Dave Camp (R-MI) relying on a letter from the Joint Committee on Taxation states that "Americans who do not maintain 'acceptable health insurance coverage' and who choose not to pay the bill's new individual mandate tax (generally 2.5% of income), are subject to numerous civil and criminal penalties, including criminal fines of up to $250,000 and imprisonment of up to five years." That section of the letter dealing with "civil and criminal penalties for noncompliance" specifies that Camp asked the committee to "discuss the situation in which the taxpayer has chosen not to comply with individual mandate and not to pay the additional tax." Thus, the letter is not discussing the penalties for failure to buy insurance, but the penalties for both failing to buy insurance and failing to pay the tax. The committee's letter explains that the tax code provides penalties to prevent tax evasion of any sort: "The Code provides for both civil and criminal penalties to ensure complete and accurate reporting of tax liability and to discourage fraudulent attempts to defeat or evade tax." [Joint Committee on Taxation letter, 11/5/09]
Don't you have to buy auto insurance? If not, I'm dumping mine. What a racket.
So car insurance isn't a great analogy, but it does work in some ways.
The reason we all have to have insurance in order to drive is because no one can be sure when or if they'll have an accident that they are at fault for, and it's not fair to any other car owner, driver, passenger or property owner if an at-fault person does damage and can't pay for it out of pocket. Or for other insurance premium payers - we all subsidize the people who don't have insurance, just like anyone who currently has healthcare insurance subsidizes the care of uninsured people right now.
And this might indicate a problem. Nowadays you only need to know about six facts to completely destroy conservative theory, and you only need superficial knowledge of three subjects a week to know enough to point and laugh at how stupid the media is. And these are the only reasons I'm here.
I have no incentive to learn.
It is a distinction without a difference.
The reason most people who will not manage to buy health insurance under a new regime is financial constraints-- even given subsidies that do not cover the entire costs of acquiring insurance. These are not people who are protesting the intrusion of the government into their lives, they simply cannot afford ANY more expenses upon their limited budgets.
These people will not be able to pay the resulting "tax" for failure to buy insurance either. They will not mainly be anti-tax agitators, just pinched Americans.
I fail to see how the experience of facing jail time under such circumstances is dissimilar to going to jail for not buying health insurance (since it is basically the same thing).
It's just another claim to create fear, uncertainty and doubt so that Congress won't pass any form of health care reform.
If pols and pundits on the right were interested in reform, I'd hope to see more intelligent discourse and not just bogus statements.
The reason you owe taxes doesn't matter, as I have explained about 30 times in the past 4 days.
There is no jail time penalty for failing to purchase insurance. None.
There is nothing wrong with the claim, it is true, you can "go to jail" for resisting, and it is something that has never been attempted before, trying to tax/jail people for not buying a good. Makes you wonder how in bed congress is with the insurance companies who have already unconstitutionally banned interstate trade, now they want to unconstitutionally regulate intrastate trade.
Just like it's never going to be true that you can go to jail for getting an early IRA withdrawl. Just like it's not true that you can go to jail for making income from a small business.
None of those things have JAIL as a potential penalty!
This is really not rocket science.
You cannot go to jail for 'resisting' the Federal Govt's demand that you buy healthcare insurance!
And the US Supreme Court has already ruled, many times, on how the Interstate Commerce clause will be fully fulfilled by this bill in similar ways to previous rulings. That is a lost cause.
You seem to think that paying taxes on income is the same thing as paying taxes on not buying insurance, however they are not the same. As I pointed out, never before has the federal government required that individuals buy insurance, it is in an entirely different league. Taxing people who fail to comply is a shortcut around explicitly .
Even if they were the same, it is still not incorrect to say "you could go to jail as a consequence of making income," it is just uncommon to say, or rather, common sense. In this instance, "Jail for not buying insurance" is a case of "Man bites dog" - it is so unusual we explicitly point it out.
The US supreme court also ruled that "separate but equal" is legitimate, so it is a non-argument. Fact is, if you even bother to read the Federalist papers, or the Anti-federalist writings on the Bill of Rights, this kind of thinking is clearly false. That would be like claiming "general welfare" entitles people to free money - just because the word has changed doesn't mean the constitution has changed meaning.
You can owe taxes for any number of reasons - because you got an early IRA withdrawl, or because you had small business income, or because you failed to purchase healthcare insurance, for example.
You can't be jailed for getting an early IRA withdrawl. You can't be jailed because you had small business income. And you can't be jailed because you didn't buy health insurance!
You can be jailed for not paying taxes that are owed for any of the reasons listed above, but you aren't being jailed for the reason you owe taxes!
It's pretty simple.
And for people who are truly financially constrained, there are subsidies available! There won't be anyone who can't afford to buy insurance and can't afford to pay the fine.
Forget about trying to connect the dots for Dolly, she wont do it.
IF you get sent to jail for not paying the tax that was levied against you BECAUSE you didnt buy health insurance, you are merely a tax cheat to her. The underlying reason doesnt matter to her.
If it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, walks like a duck, us simple folk don't play games and call it a squirrel.
You've been hanging around Bill Clinton too long.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUkzV8h3Wp0
The one thing that "healthcare reform" certainly does NOT do is offer "choice"! Quite the contrary. This was made abundantly clear this past Friday in an Op-Ed that appeared Friday, December 13, 2009 in The Wall Street Journal by Andrew Heinze, a registered Democrat from New York. Following are a few words from that article:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704402404574527493169603118.html
"I'm a registered Democrat living in New York City, and I buy my own health insurance. But now, having seen the health-care reform bill that passed the House, I'm preparing for life without health insurance. And unless I'm the only person covered under the Empire Blue Cross/Blue Shield "Tradition Plus" plan, a lot of other people will end up just like me, uninsured.
I will gain one thing, though—an annual fine for losing my insurance. The exact amount of that fine isn't clear yet, but so far it looks like I'll be paying about the same amount—$2,000 a year—for having no insurance as I do now for having it."
Mr. Heinze goes on to describe the fact that, today, his minimum cost for a comprehensive major medical plan is $13,000 per year. His cost on a plan that just covers hospital stays is $2,000 per year. Therefore, he chose the less expensive option. He correctly points out that the $11,000 difference would pay for A LOT of doctor visits should that become necessary. Today Mr. Heinze has a CHOICE between these two alternatives. Under the provisions of the healthcare bill passed in The House of Representatives on Saturday, November 7, that CHOICE will NO LONGER EXIST!!!
The irony here is ultra liberal Democrats want to ensure "choice" for abortion in a bill that, in every other respect, takes away freedom of choice from individuals and transfers that choice to the federal government.
Healthcare reform is something that needs to be done correctly. Another irony is the fact that President Obama wants us to rush into this very important decision while, at the same time, the General that The President personally chose to run the war in Afganistan has asked for more troops MONTHS AGO, but when it comes to that decision it's quite a different story. No rush there according to Obama! The White House says they need to take the time to get it RIGHT! Go figure!!!
Given the fact that a recent poll indicates the vast majority of Americans believe that JOBS should be the number 1 priorty for the administration in Washington while only 17% believe that to be the case on the subject of healthcare reform, it appears to me that both Martha Coakley and President Obama have their priorities, shall we say, BASS ACKWARDS!!!
For the record, I am also a REGISTERED DEMOCRAT!
First.
Comparing Auto Insurance to Health Insurance is INSANE.
A vehicle is a non living, non breathing object, that has no rights. We can CHOOSE whether or not we wish to have a vehicle, and if we choose to have one, and drive it, we MUST have insurance on it. ALSO, there are no examinations of our own bodies for getting Auto Insurance.
In contrast :
A person, like ME.. is.. A person? We HAVE rights, and we do not have the option to have or not have a body.. Another words, there is NO comparison. What this bill is saying, is basically, if you exist, and are functional, you MUST buy health insurance or face fines.. and if you do not pay the fines.. then... Jail/prison and or 250,000 fine
Also, being basically 'forced' to get health insurance is basically forcing everyone whom does not have it to find the cheapest company they can afford, and stand in line to have their .. *THEIR* bodies examined, their personal information given, and be subject to the rulings of that insurance company for maintaining their insurance.. i.e - physical examination every X months.. take this pill for this, take that drug for that.. or else they drop you.. And if they drop you because you didn't like what they were doing to YOUR body.. well you just fell into 'Non compliance' with the government law..
Further more, whom is the government to ONE - Tell me if I should or should not have Health Care - Two - Tell me if *they* feel I am capable of purchasing it or not - Three - If I *AM* deemed capable of buying Health Insurance, and I do not, force a huge, HUGE, fine against my wages, for something I DO NOT EVEN HAVE..
Excuse me, there is no, NO flaw in what this gentlemen said in the video regarding the Health Care Reform..
The truth is we CAN be sent to jail/prison for not getting Health Insurance.. The simple fact of the matter is that it takes not paying their ridiculous fines to land us in jail/prison for no having Health Care.. 2.5 percent of my yearly wages?? Are you kidding me? And for something I would not be spending a dime on because I didn't have it anyhow?
And on top of the Jail/prison time, up to 250,000 dollar fine as well?
Holy.. wow
I cannot beleive so many people are so ignorant to not see between the lines here.
This bill passes and we can all kiss America goodbye as we know it now.
And just wait, after this one goes through, wait until the next form of government control is attempted again by the Obama administration..
Pretty soon we will be walking around with bar codes on our wrists, limits to how many babies a family can have, and Gulags in the background housing everyone that did not comply with the governments mandates.
Well I pay my taxes, and paid out of my pocket when I needed health care (which surely gave those companies far more than what they received from those patients with health insurance) and I will not comply to Obama's administrations tyrannical government mandates. They can come after me if it comes down to it, because I wont pay their insane fines, and I will hold my ground.