An article from Fox News reports that last Tuesday
Obamacare faced another legal challenge in federal court. According to the
article, a group of business owners and individuals pushed back against the IRS
regulation that is challenged as both unlawful and potentially crippling. It is
stated that, "The regulation, which stems from the ACA, defines which
applicants are eligible for subsidies in connection with obtaining health care
coverage. It's a significant distinction, because those subsidies trigger
massive employer and individual obligations in the states where they are
awarded." The Plaintiffs argue that the text of the law says that the subsidies
that go out to insurance are only suppose to be given out in states that have
set up their own state exchanges and not into the states where the federal
government is the one making the exchange. The IRS disagrees and according to
their interpretation those subsidies go to applicants in every state. This is a
very important distinction because based upon where these subsidies are
rewarded the employers would have to pay costly mandates they would not have
otherwise. The plaintiffs are suing because those cost will force them to cut
pay and let go of employees and possibly run them out of business. They believe
that the IRS is acting out on orders made by the White House.
This brings a lot
of buzz onto Capitol Hill. The House had a hearing in which they discussed the
Presidential power and he may have too much power. Being that we just learned
about the court system and wrote a paper about the power of the President I
took an interest to this article. Shannon Bream discussed how President Obama
does not always enforce laws that seem proper, such as immigration laws, but
how he made significant changes to Obamacare. No matter who is President, this
sets a dangerous precedent. Having a President with too much power could
threaten individual liberty, which is one of the values the United States is
based on. Any President that has too much power is scary and hopefully
Americans won't see an increase in power through the course of the coming years
and different presidencies.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/12/04/obamacare-faces-another-challenge-in-federal-court/
As you mentioned, Presidents are gradually getting more and more powerful as time goes on, and you have to wonder when will it stop? Both Bush and Obama have been attacked in their careers for their amount of power, and I argue that both did/do take advantage of their power. It seems as if Obama does not have America's priorities straight, and mostly acts for the sake of his party. We can expect these party pleasing actions from members within Congress; however, as president, shouldn't he be more concerned about the overall wellbeing of the country?
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