In New York v US (1992), SCOTUS handled an important issue – could the federal government force state legislatures to enact certain laws? The answer is no. SCOTUS held that the feds could offer money to the states with strings attached, or Congress could preempt state laws and impose a uniform standard nationwide. But in referencing the 10th Amendment, SCOTUS said “the Constitution divides authority between federal and state governments for the protection of individuals.” Excuse me?!? The 10th Am. says the feds ONLY get the power expressly granted to them by the US Constitution, and other powers (not expressly forbidden to the states by the US Constitution) are reserved to the states “OR TO THE PEOPLE.” States don’t automatically get ALL other powers. So where do states get their powers? The State Constitutions. If the people did not expressly delegate a power to the state government in their state constitution, the state government does NOT have that power. PERIOD. #WeThePeople

In 2010, Congress passed ObamaCare (ACA) & 26 states sued. In NFIB v Sebelius (2012), SCOTUS noted their previous cases all dealt with regulation of “activity,” while the ACA’s individual mandate “compels individuals to become active in commerce by purchasing a product, on the ground that their failure to do so affects interstate commerce.” Congress had never before mandated that people engage in economic activity, and then regulate that mandated activity. The Court held the Commerce Clause did not authorize Congress to compel people to engage in activity. Rather, a power to compel people to do business with a private company was a “great massive and independent power” that was “beyond those specifically enumerated.” It further stated that to hold otherwise “would give Congress the same license to regulate what we do not do, fundamentally changing the relation between the citizen and the Federal Goverment.” They held the ACA isn’t imposing a mandate enforced by a penalty, but rather gave people an option to buy insurance or pay a “modest tax.” ? Finally, in 2017, Congress set the tax to $0. It’s ironic that although the Court recognized how insane it would be to allow Congress to force people to engage in specific economic activity, they found an excuse for allowing such blatantly unconstitutional legislation to stand!