In some respects I’m feeling pretty justified by last week’s Supreme Court ruling on the Individual Mandate. That is because eighteen months ago I said that commentators were pushing aside the very real likelihood of it being justified under the taxation clause of the constitution. That prediction got me more than a little ridicule in some online forums. Although in terms of prognostication it wouldn’t count as a bulls-eye, it is more like split-the-arrow.
A great many things under a great many names — tax, fee, duty, credit, rebate and penalty among others — fall under the taxation clause of the constitution. In the classification of taxes, the individual mandate is a required payment that people who meet certain criteria have to pay. And like any tax, the people required to make the payment will likely not enjoy making the payment.