2008 Video: Newt Insists Individual Mandate is Necessary

If there are two words that became radioactive in 2009-2010, 'individual mandate' fits the bill. It was a different story in 2008, which might help explain why Newt Gingrich gave a speech, in which he expressed a view that said everyone should be required to pay for health insurance (that's individual mandate).

At first blush, this might sound like a cogent argument. Such things are Newt's strength. People are more willing to pay their credit card bills than they are to pay for health insurance. The reason for this is that we have a culture that is being taken advantage of because people know there will be no real consequences for failing to pay for health insurance. There ARE consequences if you have a poor credit rating (mortgage crisis notwithstanding).

However, that's not the point or the solution. It's called creating a bigger problem through misdiagnosis and treating a symptom instead of the illness. The point is that the government should not have to force its citizens to buy anything. The biggest part of the problem with healthcare has been government meddling, regulation, and illegal immigration. In every case, government IS the problem, either through egregious actions (over-regulation) or inexplicable inaction (illegal immigration). What Newt is advocating for in this speech is more government intervention when the answer is less (except in the case of immigration).

Forcing people to pay for insurance is like mandating everyone pay income tax. We'll get to a point where not everyone pays while still mandating law-abiding citizens continue to do so, when they were already paying in the first place. Half of this country already doesn't pay income tax. The other half has to deal with the IRS every year, an undertaking that will become even more difficult with the implementation of an individual mandate - except for the people who already don't pay taxes.

This idea should never see the light of day. The two things that should be done right off the bat are to seal the borders and allow insurance companies to do business across state lines. This will reduce the insurance pool, increase competition and efficiency, and thereby make it more affordable for people to buy health insurance. Yeah, some government bureaucrats will have to be fired and earn a living in the real world but how is that a bad thing? They can start contributing to economy instead of living off the taxpayers while making it more difficult for those taxpayers to do so.

It might sound reasonable, Newt, but more government is NOT the answer.



Here is a memo penned by Newt in 2006 that echoes the same sentiment.

h/t Daily Caller