Written on May 12th, 2012
Edited in April 2014
The
Interstate Commerce Clause (Article I, Section 8, Clause 3) of the
U.S. Constitution reads:
[The
Congress shall have Power] "to regulate Commerce... among the
several States...".
In
my opinion:
#1.
"Regulate" should not be construed as identical to
"legislate on" or "prescribe the rules for governing";
but rather "keep regular"; i.e., uninhibited,
uninterrupted, and uncontrolled.
#2.
The purpose of the Clause [hereafter referred to as "the
I.C.C."] is to prevent trade wars between the states. This has
the effect of:
(a)
turning the nation into a free-trade zone, and
(b)
preventing state governments from pandering to the industries and
businesses within their claimed territorial jurisdictions by
protecting them (explained in #5).
#3.
It is intended that the I.C.C. accomplish the goals outlined in #2 by
giving the federal government the power to prevent and reverse the
creation of protectionist barriers or impediments to free trade
across state borders.
#4.
"Trade" should be construed as identical to "commerce",
which has been held by the U.S. Supreme Court to mean "intercourse",
including traffic and navigation. A dictionary from the 1790s defines
the verb "commerce" as "to hold intercourse",
which includes interchange and exchange. I feel that "intercourse"
should also be construed to include the transportation of goods (and
services, for which there is less precedent).
#5.
State-upheld protectionist measures which are (and ought to be)
prohibited by the I.C.C. include:
(a)
bans on the manufacturing of goods for shipment across state lines
[Kidd
v. Pearson]
Note: In discussing contraception, Ron Paul stated that any good
whose importation cannot be banned when it crosses state lines also
cannot be completely banned within the state. I am not aware of any
precedent or statements by the founders that would support this
claim.
(b)
tariffs, tolls, and other taxes [the Federalist Papers]
Note:
I feel that the I.C.C. should also prevent quotas, but in Wickard
v. Filburn,
the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against this. I am not aware of any case
that could be cited as precedent for invalidating quotas on I.C.C.
grounds.
(c)
exclusive monopolies [Gibbons
v. Ogden]
Note:
The properness of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
(P.P.A.C.A.; "Obamacare") seemed to be predicated on the
notion that health insurance companies should be required to compete
across state lines. Indeed, it seems that this is the only legitimate
constitutional portion of Obamacare, the constitutionality of whose
remainder seemed to have been glossed over and defended by strawman
arguments and emotional appeals.
However
- although this interstate competition appears (at first glance) to
be a perfectly constitutional objective which merits involvement
pursuant to the I.C.C. - I am not aware of any private company which
was granted a state-upheld exclusive monopoly on the sale of health
insurance. Taking this information (if accurate) into account, it
seems that this situation alone would truly merit federal
involvement.
Being
that "exchange" (a form of commerce) includes purchase
as well as sale,
a state-upheld exclusive monopoly privilege to sell something
like health insurance should be construed to be just as
unconstitutional (and in violation of the I.C.C.) as a state-upheld
exclusive monopoly privilege to buy health
insurance.
I
once invoked the 10th Amendment (states' rights) to defend the
Kucinich Amendment to Obamacare (which permits each state to form a
single-payer health insurance system). However, such systems conflict
with the I.C.C. because they are state-upheld exclusive monopoly
privileges to purchase (that is, monopsonies).
Thus,
it appears clear - at least to me - that:
(1)
there is absolutely no I.C.C.-supported Constitutional precedent - or
even necessity - for Obamacare
(2)
there was plenty unconstitutional about the health insurance
industry before Obamacare
(3)
several portions of Obamacare are unconstitutional.
For
more entries on commerce, please visit:
http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2014/04/economic-policy-for-2012-us-house.html
For
more entries on health care and health insurance, please
visit:
http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2012/06/obamacare-and-interstate-commerce.html
http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2012/06/obamacare-and-interstate-commerce.html
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