Obamacare is morally corrupt—period

By now hardly anybody denies the premium rate shock that the young and healthy will experience next year, thanks to Obamacare, in order to pay for the coverage of those older and less healthy—even the Obama administration and other leading proponents of the law now speak about this openly.

How does New York Times columnist Paul Krugman defend this reality? He argues that “only a relative handful of people will be hurt at all,” while many more will benefit.

Jonathan Cohn of New Republic consoles himself in a similar fashion, writing, “[E]xperts think the number of people who fit that category [young people who will pay more for coverage] will be small.”

In reality, the number won’t be small. According to one study, almost 1.5 million young adults will be gouged, and that estimate improperly ignores the millions who will receive subsidies. Also, nobody will benefit—not in the real sense of the word—from such government handout programs.

But the more important point is that laws like Obamacare can’t be justified by counting heads and “balancing” supposed benefits to one group against injuries to another group. It is wrong on principle for the government to force young people to sacrifice their hard-earned wealth to subsidize the health coverage of older generations.

Individuals should be left free to use the fruits of their productive efforts to make the most of their own lives. For a young person, this could mean saving for a down payment on a home, buying a better car, starting his own business, traveling the world, and more. Nothing can justify depriving even a single person of this rightful freedom.

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