SCOTUS Obamacare Individual Mandate Oral Arguments March 27, 2012
Channel: matt605
Date: 2012-03-27

http://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/11-398-Tuesday.pdf

Supreme Court Oral Arguments on the Individual Mandate of Obamacare.  March 27, 2012

JUSTICE SCALIA: You're saying that all the discussion we had earlier about how this is one big uniform scheme and the Commerce Clause, blah, blah, blah,blah, really doesn't matter.  This is a tax, and the Federal Government could simply have said, without all of the rest of this legislation, could simply have said, everybody who doesn't buy health insurance at a certain age will be taxed so much money, right?

GENERAL VERRILLI: It used its powers together to solve the problem of the market not -

JUSTICE SCALIA: Yes, but you didn't need that.

GENERAL VERRILLI -- providing affordable coverage -

JUSTICE SCALIA: You didn't need that. If it's a tax, it's only -- raising money is enough.

GENERAL VERRILLI: It is justifiable under its tax power.

JUSTICE SCALIA: Okay. Extraordinary.

55:30