Nearly two centuries ago, South Carolina Sen. John C. Calhoun nearly sparked a civil war when he led an unconstitutional effort to nullify a federal law his state government disagreed with. One hundred and eighty years later, South Carolina lawmakers want to do it again. Last night, the South Carolina House passed an attempt to “interpose and refuse to enforce” much of the Affordable Care Act.
The bill includes a number of attempts to undermine health reform, some of which are unconstitutional, others of which are merely unwise. The most insidious provision of the bill, however, is this:
A South Carolina resident taxpayer who is subjected to a tax by the Internal Revenue Code under 26 U.S.C. Section 5000A of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act shall receive a tax deduction in the exact amount of the taxes or penalty paid the federal government pursuant to 26 U.S.C. Section 5000A. The tax deduction allowed by this section must be used in the year the federal tax or penalty is paid.
You know, the individual mandate. The one that penalizes those folks who don't buy health care in order to fund state health care exchanges. The feds collect the mandate, and the state of SC would refund it back immediately under this law.
You're beginning to see where the problem is, yes? It's patently unconstitutional (at least until the Roberts Court decides 5-4 that maybe it's cool to deliberately make laws to undermine black presidents and stuff) but there's tons of damage that could happen in the years it would take to settle this fight.
Meanwhile, SC's state budgets would increasingly go into the red, meaning more cuts in schools, safety, public services, etc in a state that already has one of the lowest per capita spending on students in the nation. It's a recipe for disaster, and SC Republicans are deliberately sabotaging the law in order to make the system collapse, then say "Obamacare can't work, see!"
You can bet more states will follow. Health care for the neediest among us? Let's sabotage it!
The Republican way, indeed.
I'm not sure it's unconstitutional (if I read it correctly that this is a STATE income tax deduction in the amount of the federal tax paid for failing to secure health insurance), because it doesn't thwart collection of the federal tax -- I think a state could, for example, provide a credit equivalent to the amount of self-employment tax paid to the federal government (here in Portland the city allows a reduction of 1/2 of the amount of self-employment tax as a credit on the city/county business tax bills) -- rather, as you say, it's just insanely stupid and designed as a pure spite measure aimed at the President, and will only hurt the state budget and the people at the bottom of the social scale in South Carolina.
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