Protection Racket

A tip of the Toque to Gateway Pundit via Pundette:

IBD Editorials has sounded the alarm regarding a very disturbing little paragraph in the Obama healthcare package:

...The provision would indeed outlaw individual private coverage. Under
the Orwellian header of "Protecting The Choice To Keep Current Coverage," the
"Limitation On New Enrollment" section of the bill clearly states:

"Except as provided in this paragraph, the individual health insurance
issuer offering such coverage does not enroll any individual in such coverage if
the first effective date of coverage is on or after the first day" of the year
the legislation becomes law.

So let me get this straight. If you want insurance, your choices will be to stick with what you have, find work for a company that provides group insurance, or go on the government plan. If you HAVE a n existing individual plan, and you decide to make any changes to it, your choices are narrowed down to two: the governmnet plan, or a corporate group plan. And if you work for a company that doesn't have a plan, or goes with the government plan, or if you want to be self-employed, your choice is down to one -- the government plan.

But this is all about "preserving choice", not forcing socialized medicine on everyone.

And it gets better:

Fox News: Americans who refuse to buy affordable medical coverage could be hit with fines of more than $1,000:

Americans who refuse to buy affordable medical coverage could be hit with
fines of more than $1,000 under a health care overhaul bill unveiled Thursday by
key Senate Democrats looking to fulfill President Barack Obama's top domestic
priority.

So not only are your options narrowed down to one plan, you're going to be fined if you don't choose a plan -- but there's only one plan to choose from. How is this NOT forcing us all into a government-run socialist program?

I absolutely LOVE the 1984-esque terminology:

Called "shared responsibility payments," the fines would be set at least
half the cost of basic medical coverage, according to the legislation. The goal
is to nudge people to sign up for coverage when they are healthy, not wait until
they get sick.

The Nanny State meets the Protection Racket. This administration aned congress are like Mary Poppins and John Gotti on a cross-country spree. They're like Boy Scouts gone bad -- they're going to help the little old lady across the street, and htey're going to bust her kneecaps if she declines.

This is what you voted for, America. This is what you elected. Did you really want this, or were you tricked, were you seduced, were you awed by the facade marble columns and the stern gaze into the future? Well, either way, this is what you brought upon yourselves.

Hope?

Change?

Meddling.

Coercion.

Are you going to stand for it? Has Obama made an offer you can't refuse?