Aside The People, Astride The People, And To The People

This is only a step. HR3590 was a change to the bill, and it now must go back to the senate for reconciliation/affirmation.

The senate, in essence, must avoid making any changes to the HR3590 changes in order to present this to the president. The bill produced for the executive must be identical from the house and senate.

Were the senate to make any amendments, the bill would then again be put to the house for reconciliation.

HR3590 changes include eliminating the FFEL program (i.e stafford loans, FEL) in turn for direct government loans for secondary education. It includes language restoring the original method of requiring citizens to obtain health insurance under penalty otherwise, and language requiring that states create insurance exchanges that will serve as an alternative to private insurance for particular groups of income earners.

The latter two are of questionable constitutionality. Never before has the congress attempted to pass legislation requiring a private citizen purchase what is ostensibly a private product; and the tenth amendment prohibits the federal body from requiring via legislation the state governments use in enacting any piece or part of federal legislation.

Another note; taxes written up in HR3590 specifically against insurance company executives are also of questionable constitutionality, as it has bee ruled in the past that such taxes against certain individuals, groups, or classes *as named* are de facto penalties. Things the gov’t may not say: Joe is to pay 50% higher taxes. People with red hair are to pay 50% higher taxes. People working in widget manufacturing are to pay 50% higher taxes.

HR3590 also introduces a 3.6% (check me) tax on investment income to entities of $200,000 annual income or higher.

The current government appears to be “Aside the people, astride the people, and to the people.”