A Weak Argument for Making Health Care Mandatory

A guest on The O'Riley Factor made this argument to Bill O'Reilly about why Americans should be forced to purchase health insurance. Actually, more likely you'll have three choices: purchase health insurance, pay a fine if you don't, or go to jail. That's the choices in the House bill. What might happen is if you don't purchase health insurance is that the gov't will just deduct the fine from your bank account without your permission. I mean if they are going to make you pay for health insurance they could just as easily make you pay for the fine if you don't. The gov't will get their money from one way or another. The Congress will not have to pay any fine. They will be allowed to opt out of their own system. It's too bad Congress don't extend that courtesy to the rest of America. But I digress...

The argument the guest used is this: When you live in a city or town you pay taxes for use of the police department or fire department even when you may never need them. The argument is weak because if you are renting an apartment then you don't pay any property taxes. Or if you are just visiting you don't pay property taxes. The renter and the visitor may actually have the need of both departments. If the city is using some sort of sales tax then the citizen could buy outside the city like online to avoid the sales tax. Or if a citizen gets too fed up with the taxes he can move to somewhere else. If you have mandatory health insurance where do you go to escape that? Yes, both are required in both scenarios but one scenario you have even less choices. 

One other point about the argument. Comparing the fire department and police department to ObamaCare is an insult to the departments. At least firemen and the police work well when allowed to do their jobs. I don't think you can say that about any universal health care. Also, I don't believe there is any person on the Left that has exempt themselves from paying property taxes where they live.