Tuesday, February 11, 2014

La loi, c'est moi

Do you remember when Barack Obama said he'd simply bypass Congress whenever he could? Apparently he can do it any time he wants:
Most employers won't face a fine next year if they fail to offer workers health insurance, the Obama administration said Monday, in the latest big delay of the health-law rollout.

The Treasury Department, in regulations outlining the Affordable Care Act, said employers with 50 to 99 full-time workers won't have to comply with the law's requirement to provide insurance or pay a fee until 2016. Companies with more workers could avoid some penalties in 2015 if they showed they were offering coverage to at least 70% of full-time workers.
There's no way this should stand, of course. Choose your reason -- equal protection, separation of powers, no damn kings -- it really doesn't matter which one. The guy who used to teach a constitutional law class is now demonstrating that constitutions don't mean very much unless people are willing to abide by them. And because Harry Reid sits in the Senate, there's nothing Congress can do to curb this guy. And if you think John Roberts will do anything, guess again.

By the way, all this does is move the goalposts. It used to be that hiring the 50th worker would trigger all manner of costs and regulations for a business. Now it's the 100th worker. Why is that better?

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