As the summer heats up, the U.S. Supreme Court will be ruling on the constitutionality of Obamacare, one of the most important cases to be decided since Citizens United v. FEC. From the start, Obamacare was an unpopular piece of legislation and a strong majority of the American people remains vehemently opposed to the law because they do not want the government to control their healthcare. They know that such massive government spending and intervention is unsustainable and will only result in increased costs and poorer results. All eyes are on the Supreme Court Justices because the fate of Obamacare will have major implications for the future of our nation.
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If Obamacare is upheld it will be an economic disaster. The President promised that Obamacare would cut the deficit by $143 billion over ten years, but Sen. Ron Johnson has pointed out that “instead of saving $143 billion, we are adding $54 billion to our deficit.” President Obama also said that Obamacare would “only” cost about $940 billion over 10 years. In March, the Congressional Budget Office reported that the gross cost between 2012-2022 would be $1.762 trillion. Every year the estimated costs of Obamacare get worse and worse, it is a ticking time bomb hanging over our heads.
If some aspects of the law are shut down or reversed, the Obamacare ruling has the potential to save a significant amount of money, according to a recent POLITICO article. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has even estimated savings totaling more than $1 trillion if certain clauses, such as the individual mandate, insurance market reforms, and others, are deemed unconstitutional and cut from the law.
Of course, a complete strike down of Obamacare would be the best outcome for the country, negating the $1.762 trillion 10 year price tag. “The spending commitments in this bill are humongous. In my judgment, the budget will be far, far better off if the whole law is struck down,” said Jim Capretta of the Ethics and Public Policy Center. The country will save trillions over the coming decades.
What would become of the savings? The POLITICO article states that “many wonks have their eyes on the money.” “Wonk,” by the way, is code in Washington for staffers and special interests. This is a total outrage; it is the people’s money, not the government’s. The funds must go back to the Treasury to pay down our crushing $15.7 trillion national debt. America cannot sustain its continued spending binge. On its current path, America is looking more and more like Greece and Spain than the vibrant country in which we used to live.
The conservative movement must have a clear message if Obamacare is partially or completely struck down by the Supreme Court. We must ensure that the funds set aside for this law aren’t squandered on other frivolous liberal initiatives. At a time when the national debt is nearing $16 trillion and our budget deficit is projected to be $1.2 trillion, it is apparent that we must attempt to restore this country to a somewhat sustainable financial standing. It would be fiscally and morally irresponsible for Congress and the White House not to make an attempt to right the financial woes that Obamacare would exacerbate.
As you can see, the stakes at the Supreme Court couldn’t be higher. Struck down or upheld, as Obamacare goes, so goes the fate of our economic future.
