Romney agrees with Obama- Obamacare is not a tax

During a time of continuous change and aggression over the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the constitutionality of Obamacare, Mitt Romney threw his party a curve ball that still has heads spinning. Romney has agreed with President Obama, stating that Obamacare is not a tax. Moments after the Supreme Court’s decision was publicized, criticisms surfaced about Obama giving the biggest tax hike history to the American people. Outrage grew as the day went on and information was disseminated, calling this the biggest tax increase in history. Social networking sites lit up with attacks on Obama and tempers flared. However, now that Romney publicly agreed with Obama, it completely deflates the arguments that the law is a tax. After all, how can Republicans be against Obama on the issue if their presumptive nominee for the presidency is with him?

The Washington Post reports: “Romney’s resistance to calling the individual mandate a tax reflects an awkward history that has dogged his presidential campaign: Although he decries the federal health-care law and vows to lead an effort to repeal it if he is elected, Romney championed and signed very similar legislation when he was governor of Massachusetts. As the federal law does, the 2006 Massachusetts law imposed a fine on people who refused to buy health coverage. And as Obama does, Romney insisted that it was not a tax. He referred to it as a ‘penalty’ and an ‘incentive.’”

Romney passed similar legislation in Massachusetts when he was governor and at the time he said it was not a tax. He has no choice at this time than to stand with his previous statements and agree that Obamacare, just like Romneycare, is not a tax. The Wall Street Journal reports: “The break from his Republican allies illustrates the difficulty the presumptive GOP presidential nominee faces in criticizing the president for a national health-care law that resembles the one Mr. Romney signed as Massachusetts governor. Both laws include a requirement that most individuals buy insurance coverage.”

Although responses to the decision handed down by the Supreme Court range from impeachment to armed revolution, one thing is definitely clear: Obama and Romney agree on this issue. This strange twist is sure to gain tremendous attention from voters moving into the election. Although this issue is definitely going to continue being a hot issue moving forward toward the 2012 presidential elections, it appears that the issue will be between high ranking Republicans and team “Obama/Romney."

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SOURCES:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/romney-camp-sides-with-obama-that-health-insurance-mandate-is-not-tax/2012/07/02/gJQAQIaJJW_story.html

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-57465581-503544/tax-vs--penalty-debate-hurts-both-obama-and-romney/

http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2012/07/02/509454/obamacare-tax-increase-history/