The Press Secretary Dissents
The White House Press Secretary has issued a late dissent in yesterday's Supreme Court decision upholding ObamaCare. While the law's key provision -- formerly known as the individual mandate -- survived only under Congress' power to levy taxes, Carney seemed to take issue with the description aboard Air Force One today. In a gaggle with reporters, he explained the difference between a tax and a penalty.
Here is an excerpt from the transcript:
Q But for that 1 percent, is it a tax or a penalty?
MR. CARNEY: It's a penalty because you have a choice. You don’t have a choice to pay your taxes, right? You have a choice to buy -- if you can afford health insurance -- and you can, I assume, Jared. So if you don't buy it, and you can afford it, it is an irresponsible thing to do to ask the rest of America’s taxpayers to pay for your care when you go to the emergency room. So your choice is to purchase health care reform or a penalty will be administered.
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Feb '12
Re: The Press Secretary Dissents
Brilliant!
Mar '11
Re: The Press Secretary Dissents
Perhaps he could explain the difference to the Chief Justice.
Aug '11
Re: The Press Secretary Dissents
I'm still having some problem with that pesky little word "choice." I see that they are too. Perhaps Obama's team will re-define it so that the rest of us will understand.
Aug '10
Re: The Press Secretary Dissents
Harry Reid says that taxes are voluntary. I wish these Dems would get their story straight.
Jul '10
Re: The Press Secretary Dissents
Interesting he can get that part right and be so idiotic about the end of his statement. Why is it implicit that you are asking the taxpayers to pay for your care when you go to the emergency room? Some people actually save their money and pay bills out-of-pocket. That's what real choice is about. People deciding they won't buy it because they don't need it in the first place.
Aug '10
Re: The Press Secretary Dissents
I have a choice when it comes to paying sales tax. I can choose to avoid the tax by not buying taxable goods.
I have a choice when it comes to paying income tax. I can choose to avoid that tax by not having an income.
I have a choice when it comes to paying a head tax. I can choose to avoid that tax by killing myself.
Aug '10
Re: The Press Secretary Dissents
How does one purchase "health care reform"?!
I understand how one can purchase health insurance, but how does one purchase "reform"?
May '10
Re: The Press Secretary Dissents
Jonathan Horn:
Ahh, Mr. Carney, perhaps we can do business! Rather than pay the income tax, how about I give that money to private charities?
Re: The Press Secretary Dissents
EXACTLY! That is the head fake in all of this from the beginning.
The other head fake is that if we don't have insurance the price of health care will go up. Doctors have to eat too. Eventually they will lower their prices to get us in the door.
Dec '10
Re: The Press Secretary Dissents
I made a choice to make my first installment payment toward the purchase of health care reform. I sent Romney money yesterday.
Dec '10
Re: The Press Secretary Dissents
Mindless twit.
Jun '10
Re: The Press Secretary Dissents
Is Carney as stupid as he appears?
Excuse me while my head explodes. . . . . .[Boom]
Aug '10
Re: The Press Secretary Dissents
It's telling that it doesn't even occur to him that someone might be self-sufficient enough to pay his own health care bills out-of-pocket. In his mind, it's always someone else who pays: an insurance company or the taxpayers.
It's also irksome to hear someone from the party of irresponsibility talk about how irresponsible it is to go to the ER without insurance.
You know what else is irresponsible?
Oct '10
Re: The Press Secretary Dissents
There seems to be another talking point going around that this is not a big issue because it affects such a small number of individuals; I've seen percentages online and on the television that cite 1-2%. If liberals claim this as a legitimate defense, why can't conservatives flip the script and point to the small number that would be affected by the proposed voter ID changes? This demonstrates the hypocrisy of the position, makes the discussion about "principles not percentages", and also redirects focus to Holder in a different way than F & F. It would be a great Sunday talk show discussion.
Edited on June 30, 2012 at 1:24amJun '12
Re: The Press Secretary Dissents
It seems odd to me that we are hearing so much about the Supreme Court's determination that the ACA penalty is really a tax.
They certainly did not invent this notion on their own. In truth, the administration itself argued before the court that it was indeed a tax (as an alternative argument in the event their commerce clause argument went south). So the administration sold this originally as a "penalty" and strenuously protested that it was not a tax. But to defend it before the court, they argued that it was indeed a tax. Now today, to attempt to avoid the inevitable backlash to breaking (again) their pledge not to raise taxes, they are back using the "penalty" term.
Why is the emphasis on the Supreme Court's determination that the penalty is in fact a tax, and not on the administration's obvious and repeated prevarications?
Aug '11
Re: The Press Secretary Dissents
tabula rasa: Is Carney as stupid as he appears?
Excuse me while my head explodes. . . . . .[Boom] · 5 hours ago
It's like he's got an earpiece and someone is in the backroom whispering in his ear..."Okay, now tell them that it's not a tax and then spin it again and tell them it is a tax."
"Heh, heh, heh....now tell them it's all their fault and they're racists for challenging it."
Do you ever wonder if he goes back to his office and just sits there in disbelief that his life has come to this?
Jun '12
Re: The Press Secretary Dissents
Great headline.
Jul '11
Re: The Press Secretary Dissents
Me too, and apparently we were not alone.
Apr '11
Re: The Press Secretary Dissents
I actually think I'm going to enjoy watching the Obama crowd twisting themselves into a pretzel denying that the individual mandate is a tax. Meanwhile, even Republicans might be able to pin the 'Increased taxes on the middle class' badge on them.
Re: The Press Secretary Dissents
Yes, the twisting has already begun, but there's no way out of this one.