July 17, 2012: Our readers write

With Obamacare in place, what’s next?

The Supreme Court has ruled the Affordable Care Act is constitutional and it’s now officially the law of the land. Oddly, their ruling was not based on the Commerce Clause, which everyone believed to be the crux of the argument against the individual mandate. If they had held to that, they no doubt would have had to throw the law out. No, the court decided this law was really a tax, which Congress has authority to impose, and as such, the law is allowed under the Constitution.

So Obamacare has now become Obamatax, despite the administration’s steadfast arguments to the contrary as it was being debated. It’s not only a tax, but will be the largest tax increase this country has ever seen. We still don’t understand all the future ramifications this law will have for the country. It seems every day a new revelation is uncovered. Remember then-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s declaration that they had to pass the bill so they could find out what was in it? Only in the bizarre world of the Obama presidency does this sort of utter insanity pass for reasoned logic.

The most disturbing aspect of the Supreme Court decision is not the economic disaster it portends, which is sobering enough, but the unintended consequences. If congress can force us to buy insurance by calling it a tax, what else can they compel us to do? What’s to stop them from imposing a “tax” to determine what we can or can’t eat, what vehicle we can drive, where we live, what job we perform, how many children we have, or anything else they deem to be for the collective good?

With the government’s obvious insatiable appetite for power and money, who can predict where this socialist tending road will lead? Remember another Pelosi statement where she saw no issues with imprisoning people who wouldn’t abide by the individual mandate? The ballot box is the only hope to stop our slide on this long dark slippery slope. Let’s all remember this in November.

George Gootee

Radcliff

Leave matters as they are

Anne Hazelip’s recent letter (“Just Say No”) to making Hardin County wet is right on target.

Prior to 1943 when Hardin County was wet, my dad was town marshal in Vine Grove, which had a liquor store, two taverns and a jail.

The jail frequently was occupied, especially on Saturdays when things got wild.

Today’s increased population and traffic add to reasons to vote no to alcohol in Hardin County.

If Hardin County votes no, this should result in control of the limited alcohol laws passed by cities, if not abolish them.

If I may add another no vote, vote no to any efforts to unify Hardin County. We do not need a government formed by a few persons seeking dictatorial powers over existing elected city governments. A unified Hardin County will increase problems, costs and taxes.

W.R. Morgan

Vine Grove