Question of the Week
Am I off the ranch, or do you think there may be a method to the madness of John Roberts?
Yes
No
Am I off the ranch, or do you think there may be a method to the madness of John Roberts?
Yes
No
Morning Commentary
Obamacare Decision Win for Market?
By Charles Payne, CEO & Principal Analyst
6/29/2012 7:59 AM
Wile E. Coyote: Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Mud.
Bugs Bunny: [faints] and remember, Mud spelled backwards is Dum.
Wile E. Coyote: Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Wile E. Coyote, genius. I am not selling anything nor am I working my way through college.
Bugs Bunny: I...
Wile E. Coyote: [warningly] so let's get down to cases: you are a rabbit, and I am going to eat you for supper.
Wile E. Coyote: Now, don't try to get away! I am more muscular, more cunning, faster, and larger than you are, and I am a genius. Why you could hardly pass the entrance examinations to kindergarten.
Wile E. Coyote: [Bugs yawns] so I'll give you the customary two minutes to say your prayers.
Bugs Bunny: I'm sorry, Mac, the lady of the house ain't home. And besides, we mailed you people a check last week. [Shuts the door then descends into his home as Wile E. folds up the door and leaves]
Wile E. Coyote: Why do they always want to do it the hard way?
From "Operation Rabbit" 1952
Mad Genius?
The decision is in...long lives the decision, until November. I have to say it was an upside down world yesterday, where Chief Justice Roberts joined the left and President Obama admitted political vulnerability from the ruling that the healthcare law is constitutional. The essence of the Supreme Court ruling is that Congress has the power to tax Americans and Americans have the power to change Congress. The kneejerk reaction toward Roberts was one of shock, anger, disgust and confusion. Conservatives went apoplectic saying Roberts was dumb and his name is mud to them and their cases from now on. But, as the day wore on, I began to wonder if Roberts over -thought this decision like Wile E. Coyote or was he simply being wily? President Obama didn't mention the word "tax" when he took his victory lap and many supporters will ignore that fact as well but it's the only reason the law stands today.
President Obama promised no taxes for the middle class but this is a gigantic tax. Moreover, when states decide not to play ball (red states will say no thanks and blue states are broke) and those "credits" pile up it will have a huge impact on the nation's debt. So in essence, we just got a tax hike and bump in our national debt. There was talk of free "preventive" care like mammograms but the best preventive care is eating healthy and exercising. Right before President Obama's victory lap, Mitt Romney held his own press conference.
Calling the healthcare act a "job killer" and using the short appearance to ask Americans to vote him into office to repeal the law must have resonated as later in the day contributions rallied north of $2,000,000.
President Obama closed his appearance by saying that Americans will love this law at some point. It could be five, ten or twenty years but we'll all get to know it and love it. Twenty years is a long time to indoctrinate people so I can't speak to how people will feel although the nation would be so flat broke and spending every spare nickel on interest on our debt, it's doubtful we'd hold parades marking the day the Supreme Court made its fateful decision.
The bigger question is not how we feel about this in years but will we see Roberts as a genius or knucklehead that was outsmarted by President Obama.
Which one of these guys is the rabbit and which is the coyote? And, yes, why do we always have to do this the hard way?
Merkel Blinked?
Did Angel Merkel blink, I don't think so. I do think news out of Germany points to increased anxiety over the drawn out process of saving a continent where the spenders insist on dictating policy to earners and savers (like in America). Yes, there was compromise made but the single banking authority dovetails with the idea that I believe is the end game - a United States of Europe. In the meantime, the amount pledged to Spanish banks is a drop in the bucket, and much more has to be done. I continue to think it will be although the song and dance elements are part of the show, too.
Two big news items here include earnings results from KB Home (KBH), which support the idea housing has hit a bottom and might be edging higher. Personal income and spending came in better than many expected as well.
| Comments |
| No, you're not off the ranch. You make the ranch better with your wisdom and insight. I did not like the decision but sadly I now believe it was correct, at least the part about the mandate. We were duped when the health bill passed. It is a tax. As you and Mr. Roberts suggested though, we can change the make up of congress and the presidency. That will fix our health bill. As far as the ranch goes, stay sharp. We need you out there. The only thing I see you need is some new boots. I got a pair in mind for you if you send me your shoe size. James C. Rose Hill, KS James on 6/29/2012 10:12:30 AM |
| There must be a method to Justice Robert's madnes. He's not dumb or ignorant. The high court has never before re-written a law passed by Congress. I just haven't figured out what his (ulterior?) motive is. The court has ruled before that a tax cannot be challenged until it has been paid. Is he waiting for someone to pay this penalty, err, tax, and wait for come creative attorney to tie it into some portion of the tax code in order to strike down that portion of the convoluted tax code? Spence Arnold on 6/29/2012 10:29:04 AM |
| Roberts knew exactly what he was doing. He stayed within the law BUT has now DEFINED the campaigns for both. Obama is stuck defending a flawed healthcare law and Romney can pick out and change the portions that dont sit well with the american public. If the law was struck down, there would be no battle cry for Romney. Michael Brady on 6/29/2012 10:32:58 AM |
| Your right as rain Charles, after reading Justice Roberts remarks it seems clear that he handed Obama a Pyrrhic victory. The political cost of defending the tax increase will cost him dearly. Don McLane on 6/29/2012 10:36:44 AM |
| No, ur not IMO. It's not a quick fix however. It will take a considerable time to reverse all the laws of foolishness passed over the last 40+ years under the bastardized, skewed and twisted interpretations of the commerce clause used to justify all the economic tinkering of bought politicos. It's genius. The fab four were left in the dust unless it was intentional 'cover' to distract. Norm on 6/29/2012 10:40:29 AM |
| If the true answer is yes there was a method to his madness, I think it was a huge gamble. If the true answer is no,then Roberts is an idiot... Regardless, those for this insane tax must be voted out in this most critical upcoming election. Bottom line, my gut says no to the question. One should not play with issues with such grave consequences to our nation. Thanks Tim Abbott on 6/29/2012 10:42:30 AM |
| There is method in John Robert's decision, and arrogance. What I read in his decision was "It's a tax, and you Americans stupidly voted in those who imposed it. It's your problem." Robert Dallons on 6/29/2012 10:46:58 AM |
| No. He became an activist judge and changed the fee to a tax. This is not a tax. He wants to be liked. This is bad for America. We will never repeal this. It is here to stay. The producers need to start our own country. Sucession is a must. Love you. You are my favorite. I call you my 2nd boyfriend. My boyfriend just laughs..All in good fun! Lori Ford on 6/29/2012 10:48:06 AM |
| If he is sending a message, it is wake up America. Actually this is better news tnhan if the court had struck down part of the bill. Joe Conroy on 6/29/2012 10:49:49 AM |
| While I don't like the outcome of the decision, I would like to think that the Supreme Court Justices vote on their interpretation of the principles spelled out in the constitution. Maybe I'm just naive. I do think that Justice Roberts' decision inadvertently handed Mitt Romney the election. James Tharin on 6/29/2012 10:53:21 AM |
| I felt that Justice Roberts had some thing up his sleve. The more I found out about his dicesion, it came clear that he is the smartest man ever. He stuck it to obama, big time. 1.He told the US people what to do in the end. Vote obama out. 2.He limited federal government's power by taking the law out of the commerce clause. 3.He made obama look like a fool, by calling it a tax. 4.He gave obama the win so he couldn't cry when it back fires on obama. 5. He gave the States power to opt out of increased medacade. Roberts totaly out smarted obama. Rod McKee on 6/29/2012 10:56:16 AM |
| Now a "tax bill", didn't passage of the ACA violate Article 1, Section 7 of the Constitution? In other words, if this law survives because it is a tax, can't it now be challenged on the basis of its origin in the Senate? Jim Reardon on 6/29/2012 10:56:54 AM |
| remember roberts appointed by gwb who is for one world government. We now have a ruling that the government can tax anything.Thereby controling thru taxes what & how youi live.Bye bye CONSITUTION joe pickering on 6/29/2012 10:58:57 AM |
| No madness, and we cannot get into the mind of the chief justice, nor should we. The Supreme Court has ruled. The genius idea here, if any, is that the ball gets passed back to Congress to work up (or out) the tax thing. This is where it should have been all along. This is Congress' job. Maybe they'll do it this time. As an aside, the "tax thing" will likely kill this ridiculous health care bill in the long run. But Congress has to do the work. George Stelzenmuller on 6/29/2012 11:04:07 AM |
| yes Grace on 6/29/2012 11:04:49 AM |
| Seems to me that Roberts has played his hand wrong, clever though it is, but, he seems to have played politics rather than law - remember that the purpose of SCOTUS is to lay the law beside the Constitution and see if it fits. On one hand he has reined in the Commerce clause, on the other hand he has removed all restraints on imposing TAX. Dave on 6/29/2012 11:17:35 AM |
| This is how the liberal media plays the game When Romney spoke, I flipped thru channels 2-4-5-7-9-11-13 NOTHING When Obama came on, all but 2 channels had him on. Pretty slick. Bill Morgan on 6/29/2012 11:36:23 AM |
| Yes, in the long term and big picture Mike Kihm on 6/29/2012 11:38:00 AM |
| Has the SCOTUS just created a new taxing authority NOT included in the Constitution? The Constitution is quite clear; Congress has the power to tax. It can lay direct taxes which must be levied upon the states in proportion to their population as determined by the most recent census and it can lay indirect taxes which must be uniform throughout the states (such as the excise taxes on tobacco and alcohol products). Nowhere in the Constitution does it allow for a capitation or tax directly on the heads of the people. The SCOTUS justified its healthcare ruling on the taxing authority of the congress but the healthcare bill requires a direct fine (tax) on any individual that does not obtain healthcare insurance. That is a non-authorized direct capitation tax and is blatantly unconstitutional. Are we really going to stand (roll over) for this????????? George on 6/29/2012 11:43:17 AM |
| I'm with you, Charles. I think that Roberts, by accurately characterizing the penalty as a tax, handed Romney a great gift to campaign against. I also think that health care should be handled legislatively or it will never be settled. (The ongoing debate re abortion certainly wasn't settled by Roe v. Wade.) Andrea Watson on 6/29/2012 12:00:39 PM |
| Totally befuddled--I didn't think it would be upheld. I do hope, however, that this will help Romney because it's yet another insult to the American people. Thanks to Charles--you are great! dj on 6/29/2012 12:21:19 PM |
| The Court CLEARLY DENIED the EXPANSION of the Commerce clause. That is a HUGE decision that will STAND for all time. The decision is NOT as bad as we first thought. The Medicaid expansion was DECLARED unconstitutional TOO. HUGE victories! Yes, Alito, Scalia, Kennedy and Thomas WERE correct; however, Roberts is an UBER nerd/constructionist. He CRUSHED the commerce clause expansion, and the state mandates/Medicaid expansion as unconstitutional. However, his ruling, that Congress CAN tax, is correct. It comes down to this: We, the people, are ABJECT failures as citizens. We have elected and RE-elected the same pukes time after time that REFUSED to take up the tough issues and kicked them to the Courts, thus POLITICIZING the courts. Chief Roberts did something far more important. He preserved the institution of the Supreme Court. His decision to vote the way he did instantly propels him into one of America's all time most courageous people. I'm not talking about great Americans in the sense that they are great because they think like I do. I'm talking great because they acted for the best interest of the Nation-damn the personal costs. Roberts drew a line in the sand for his peers and said "I am ending the political crap in this Court." AND he did it by getting the 4 liberal judges to agree to a decision that will ultimately benefit the nation (provided the voting public does its duty). He is playing the long game. Absolutely BRILLIANT. thomas j zaleski on 6/29/2012 12:23:16 PM |
| Seen Charles yesterday on Fox's Neil Cavuto and Neil was disbelieving Charles' interpretation of what John Roberts was thinking. I think "clever like a fox" was close. Maynard Engeland on 6/29/2012 1:51:12 PM |
| I would have liked to see Obama care be ruled unconstitutional. I do think this has helped Romney. Romney can now run saying he will get rid of the law. Obama will not be able to run away from his grand achievement. The biggest issue with the SCOTUS is that they have kicked the can down the road. Once the first person pays the penalty or tax for this then the SCOTUS can rule on over stepping the commerce clause. Dan S on 6/29/2012 1:52:04 PM |
| I think that Roberts does know the impact of calling the health care program a "tax" on the American people...and how it can be handled in Congress in the future. faye winters on 6/29/2012 2:47:50 PM |
| I thought taxes were participatory. If you don't buy a house, you don't pay property tax. If you don't buy cigarettes you don't pay tax on them. If you don't work you don't pay income tax. What's this tax for not participating about? I really don't get it. Patricia Flynn on 6/29/2012 3:08:29 PM |
| No, I think Roberts looked at the bill from a Constitutional viewpoint. His vote to uphold the bill was based on his understanding of the constitution which is the way all justices should look at such matters. Whether you are a Democrat or Republican should not impact any Justice's decision. I just want them to be objective in their decisions. Karen Miller on 6/29/2012 7:21:24 PM |
| The enactment of the Billl was essentially procedurally correct as per Constitutional requirements. Roberts clarified the language for the government, so that future discussion could be more fruitful. It's basis as a tax lends clarity of thought and decision to both sides trying to persuade of its utility. The ultimate support or veto is November 6th. Dan on 6/29/2012 7:25:55 PM |
| I am sure that Chief Justice Roberts is no dummy, and has something to his madness, but I agree with the conservative pundits who feel that the precedent that this sets, goes further in making the limits of the government's power constraints laid out in the constitution much weaker, which is just the complete opposite of what I think many of us feel is needed, especially right now! Ben Coonen on 6/29/2012 9:06:47 PM |
| Is he a stealth demomcratic? Horace Raines on 6/29/2012 11:21:56 PM |
| I believe the Illiberal's and 'Progressive's' shot themselves in the foot. They own this crap sandwich and are left trying to sell it as a 'great tax' maybe not today or in your lifetime but 'someone' in the future will/may like it. Illiberal's and those with an I.Q> at/below room temp will eat this spin up. 2ndly, the whole result of the SC's decision DESTROYS Illiberals's stance/ delusion. Illiberal's, like public sector unions look at state provided health insurance/ bargaining 'rights' as a 'right'. Thus if it's a 'right' it should be 'free'. With this ACA resulting in being a tax, which we ALL knew no matter the SC's decision that it indeed is a tax (or in Obamaspeak a 'penalty' i.e. tax), health insurance is indeed not a 'right'. Though I know I'm hinting at Illiberal's and 'Progressive's' to truly look within and get down to brass tax (no pun intended) of my gib. The aforementioned have no integrity and their alliances and/or emotionally led decisions change with the wind so to speak. I know we won't see Illiberal's and Progressive's crying foul but will gladly pat this exorbitant tax, even those Illiberal's who will be greatly effected economically speaking of this result. Conservatives can never have a lucid and mutual accord with those who have a slide-rule ideology. So very sad for our nation. Paul on 6/29/2012 11:23:57 PM |
| A lot late, and my 2nd message for the day & topic, so I get my just desserts if this is ignored. I thought it worthwhile, though, to remind folks that legal taxes must be either income taxes, excise taxes, or property taxes. It's hard for me to see how a non-performance "tax" (decreed now by the health care law) fits into any of those. That is why I said Congress must do its job and work through this tough problem. My bet is on repeal of the law later. It may take a while. George Stelzenmuller on 6/30/2012 12:33:27 AM |
| Roberts is a fool. He is not a fool for the decision itself, but for the fact that he made a decisin which was impossible to support by written reasoning. Did he call it a tax? Sometimes! Because, his written decision requires that it be a tax in certain respects to be within constitutional powers. But his written decision then has to say it is NOT a tax in order to pass other tests. He has played this perfectly for the King O-bum-a, prince of liars, to spin into another devastating victory for incompetent leadership. Obama cannot support anything with truth, but must take his arguments out of context and use half-truth. The press supports him in this methodology. Now Roberts has given him a document where he can quote boththat it is a tax when he wants to and is jot a tax. He can claim he is only taxig the rich and spin a lie that will get him more votes from the chronically moronic class than elected him in 2008. As for Roberts, he has doen immeasureable harm. The 10th amendment has taken another huge hit. Sure, he included verbiage in his decision which could limit the federal government, but the reality is that he removed the last vestages of limitation on federal powers. Not only did the 10th amendment limitations get removed, but so did equal treatment under the law. And all this because he thinks it is a tax which is not a tax. Bob G on 6/30/2012 10:37:59 AM |
| The chief justice dumped O'care back on Congress. David Romano on 7/1/2012 8:31:05 AM |
| Obama said in 2008 that he would transform our country. He has succeeded. For the first time ever in the history of the world (I may be wrong on the world part, but certainly not for the USA) we will be "taxed" for not buying ANYTHING!!! How can we pay a "tax" when nothing is purchased. So if I don't exercise every day I could be taxed for NOT exercising! This is amazing! We have really lost our freedom! Hello out there, is anyone paying attention!!!! JR said the Constitution allows congress to tax us at will and our only recourse is to vote out of office those that would support such actions. Unfortunately, Obama, the main stream media, Democrates and others who think it's fine have now been handed the tool to deny further freedoms through the apparently unrestrained taxing authority of the congress. And to beat the issue they will not call it a tax, they will call it a penality. So we still hear from the WH and others that the Health Insurance Mandate is a "fine", not by the rightfull name a "tax" and hope that a lie said and repeated often enough will eventually become the truth. How dishonest can they be? People like Obama and his supporters have no business being in government. They totally disrespect our Constitution and the freedoms it was designed to protect. I will not vote for them and I hope they are all swept out of office by a hugh majority as a message to others to not try the same thing! As for JR I don't agree with those suggesting he had some ulterior motive regarding this law. He after all is the one justice to literily rewrite the law and change the "mandate" from a fine, which is what the law calls it and changes it to a "tax". Talk about judical restraint, he through that right out the window with his opinion. Gregory P Doyle on 7/1/2012 12:25:13 PM |
| After hearing Roberts’ decision the first thing I thought was payback to Obama for his ill treatment of Roberts and other conservative Supremes during Obama’s first State of the Union Address…and since. I don’t agree with how Roberts affirmed but it puts it in the hands of we the people to fix this shit. I just hope there are enough in for the fight. NVDon on 7/9/2012 6:22:52 PM |
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