Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

South Carolina Bill Would Criminalize Obamacare

South Carolina is considering outlawing Obamacare.

Five Republican South Carolina state representatives introduced a bill last week that, if passed, would send people to jail for trying to implement the Affordable Care Act in South Carolina.

Under the bill, federal officials, employees and contractors implementing Obamacare could face a jail sentence of up to 5 years, and state officials and employees implementing Obamacare could face a jail sentence of up to 2 years.

Calling Obamacare unconstitutional, the "South Carolina Freedom of Health Care Protection Act" declares that the law "is invalid in this State, is not recognized by this State, is specifically rejected by this State, and is null and void and of no effect in this State."

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R) has not commented on the bill, according to U.S. News & World Report. Her office did not respond to a request for comment from The Huffington Post.

The Supreme Court ruled in a 5-to-4 decision in June that Obamacare's requirement for people to buy health insurance is constitutional. The court leaves it up to the states to decide whether to set up state-run online marketplaces for uninsured people and small businesses to shop for health insurance. If states opt out, the federal government will then run their health-care exchange.

South Carolina and 24 other states have rejected setting up exchanges. The Supreme Court also left it up to states whether to accept federal money to expand Medicaid as part of Obamacare; South Carolina has opted out of doing so.

Original Article
Source: huffington post
Author: Bonnie Kavoussi

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