What Just Happened in Down-to-Earth Terms
I'll let the Con lawyers sort out when a tax is not a tax, or whether the Commerce Clause was really limited by the recent ruling by Justice Roberts. I'll leave it to the extra-clever to draw Marbury v. Madison parallels. And others can figure out how much freedom died.
Rather, I see it in terms that we average Americans can understand.
America is like a household that's in a credit card debt of $100,000. The swimming pool out back (Social Security) can barely be maintained. The pickup truck, trailer, and big boat (Medicare) in the front is over our budget limits. An additional pickup truck, big boat, and trailer (Medicaid) sits next to the first one and bloats our debt. Do I need to talk about daily household expenses?
But wait. Obama just drove up in another brand new, more expensive pickup truck, which pulls a bigger, more expensive boat and trailer (Obamacare). He's honking his horn triumphantly.
Level-headed mom (a Republican) walks out with her arms folded. She just about faints. "We can't afford all our other stuff. We're a hundred thousand dollars in debt. I didn't give my permission for you to bring home another toy. I didn't vote for it at our last household meeting. In fact, you weren't even there. You were out golfing. We can't afford it!"
"Not to worry," says Obama. "It's called the Affordable Truck and Boat Act."