Should Government Pay?

[Shaggyb2000]

a quick poll for allnurses.com members. reply with a "yes" or "no" please.

does the federal constitution give the american federal government the authority or power to collect money in the form of taxes to pay for the health care for anyone who wants or needs it?

[Jolie, BSN]

My quick answer is no.

My long-winded answer is that the question is faulty. The "government" has no money of its own, and therefore pays for nothing. The question would be more accurate if it asked whether taxpayers should pay for the health care of anyone who wants or needs it. My answer would still be no, BTW.

[EmmaG, RN]

a quick poll for allnurses.com members. reply with a "yes" or "no" please.

does the federal constitution give the american federal government the authority or power to collect money in the form of taxes to pay for the health care for anyone who wants or needs it?

yes.

specifically, article i, sections 7, 8, and 9.

[sharona97, BSN, RN]

Yes, our tax money goes into different funds to help cover situations as this. The government does bring in money on it's own by example, through im.porting goods to this country. Also through interest on loans to other governments.

[Spidey's mom, ADN, BSN, RN]

My quick answer is no.

My long-winded answer is that the question is faulty. The "government" has no money of its own, and therefore pays for nothing. The question would be more accurate if it asked whether taxpayers should pay for the health care of anyone who wants or needs it. My answer would still be no, BTW.

I agree and vote NO.

steph

[RainDreamer, BSN, RN]

For anyone? For US citizens, who also pay taxes? For US citizens that don't pay taxes? For non-US citizens that don't pay taxes?

Hard to answer yes or no with so many variables.

[cardiacRN2006, ADN, RN]

No.....

[Dolce, RN]

No.

At some point people need to take responsibility for themselves.

[FireStarterRN, BSN, RN]

The duly elected government has the right. Yes.

[bethin]

Yes.

For the same reasons the evil liberal said, specifically Article I, Section 8.

[bethin]

a quick poll for allnurses.com members. reply with a "yes" or "no" please.

does the federal constitution give the american federal government the authority or power to collect money in the form of taxes to pay for the health care for anyone who wants or needs it?

i'm going to break this down:

the govt has the right to levy taxes (article i, section 8).

it does not say what those taxes can be used for. section 8 states that govt can lay and collect taxes, duties, excises, and imposts to pay debts for the common defense and welfare of the us, but it does not specifically say that tax revenue can not be used for individual benefit like insurance. i think that would fall under "common defense and welfare of the us". what i'm trying to say is that it does not list each item seperately. for ex "taxes cannot be used to buy a $10,000 hammer for a destroyer nor fund universal health care."

who is going to define 'wants'? i want a porsche, but is it necessary for me to have it? probably not, although it could be useful for me to achieve life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

and before i get flamed, i'm on the fence regarding universal coverage. i have not seen enough evidence pointing in either direction to make a decision. i'm basing my yes answer on what the constitution says.

[Perpetual Student]

No way.

Specifically, Article I, Sections 7, 8, and 9.

Section 7 does not authorize anything. It merely lays out procedure. There also is no pertinent clause in Section 9. An argument can be made that Section 8 does support it implicitly, but it is tenuous. If it took an amendment for prohibition, it definitely would take one to legally implement a universal health care system.

The duly elected government has the right. Yes.

Governments do not have rights, they have delegated powers based upon people's rights.