Interesting CBO Ruling - Where is this common sense today?!?

Isn’t this interesting? This is from a Congressional Budget Office memo in 1994 on a federal mandate for individuals to buy health insurance. I’ve pulled the 2 paragraphs below. Can you say unconstitutional?!?


http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/48xx/doc4816/doc38.pdf

THE BUDGETARY TREATMENT OF AN INDIVIDUAL MANDATE TO BUY HEALTH ISURANCE

August 1994

A mandate requiring all individuals to purchase health insurance would be an unprecedented form of federal action. The government has never required people to buy any good or service as a condition of lawful residence in the United States. An individual mandate would have two features that, in combination, would make it unique. First, it would impose a duty on individuals as members of society. Second, it would require people to purchase a specific service that would be heavily regulated by the federal government.



Federal mandates typically apply to people as parties to economic transactions, rather than as members of society. For example, the section of the Americans with Disabilities Act that requires restaurants to make their facilities accessible to persons with disabilities applies to people who own restaurants. The Federal Labor Standards Act prohibits employers from paying less than the federal minimum wage. This prohibition pertains to individuals who employ others. Federal environmental statutes and regulations that require firms to meet pollution control standards and use specific technologies apply to companies that engage in specific lines of business or use particular production processes. Federal mandates that apply to individuals as members of society are extremely rare. One example is the requirement that draft-age men register with the Selective Service System. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is not aware of any others imposed by current federal law.