Founding fathers liked taxed government health care

[Riot]

These are two interesting op-ed columns currently making the rounds, regarding the "constitutionality" of health care, involvement of the government, etc:

Forbes Business: "Congress Passes Socialized Medicine and Mandates Health Insurance -In 1798"
http://blogs.forbes.com/rickungar/20...rance-in-1798/

And further examination of contentions within the above column:

"Newsflash: Founders favored "government run health care""
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plu...red_gover.html

[Cannon Shell]

They also liked slavery

[Riot]

If Congress wants to re-establish slavery, we can use the founding fathers as a reference.

[dellinger63]

Yea requiring a payroll deduction of 1% from merchant seamen allowing treatment from a federal run hospital is exactly the same as ObamaCare.

Only a few differences come to mind including the exclusions of certain ships/ports because of back-room union deal making Obama has in his and the founding fathers left out. The fact the current plan calls for 'all' not just people in high-risk jobs purchase insurance from private entities and agents. (The seaman law required the deduction to be paid to the government.)

I'm sure if the founding fathers thought this was such a grand idea farmers, buggy whip makers, etc etc would all have been included. But perhaps they knew that wouldn't be constitutional?

[SOREHOOF]

MRI's were a lot cheaper back then. So were prescription drugs. The Medical treatment usually involved a saw. They were cheaper back then too. I guess this is the 1'st documented case of Govt. out of control that the Libs could come up with to justify themselves.

[Clip-Clop]

This sounds like it was for workers though? Big difference here.

[Riot]

Originally Posted by Clip-Clop

This sounds like it was for workers though? Big difference here.

How so? They were private ships and private employees and private owners of those ships.

The law authorized the creation of a government operated marine hospital service and mandated that privately employed sailors be required to purchase health care insurance. Via a tax on their employers (the employee had to pay - no choice - out of their pay, and the employer forwarded it to the government)

Private business had to pay a tax to the government, which then provided health care. Pretty simple.

The point is: the founding fathers were far more "liberal" than not. They were "elite", "over-educated", "European-influenced", and didn't think much of the bible (to paraphrase Bill Maher). No matter what the Tea Baggers selectively try to co-opt.

Quoting the second article:

Adam Rothman, an associated professor of history at Georgetown University .... "It's a good example that the post-revolutionary generation clearly thought that the national government had a role in subsidizing health care," Rothman says. "That in itself is pretty remarkable and a strong refutation of the basic principles that some Tea Party types offer."

"You could argue that it's precedent for government run health care," Rothman continues. "This defies a lot of stereotypes about limited government in the early republic."