A tax for doing nothing

From a blurb on Taranto’s The Best of the Web Today, today:

After the court’s ruling in NFIB v. Sebelius, the mandate, of course, is not an actual legal command, but, as Chief Justice John Roberts put it, merely the establishment of a “a condition–not owning health insurance–that triggers a tax–the required payment to the IRS.”

Every time I think of Justice John Robert’s declaration that the ObamaCare individual mandate is does not carry an individual penalty, but rather, a tax, I become angry. It makes as much sense as his messing up the Oath of Office on January 20, 2009 followed a day later with the “real” oath.

I still don’t get Robert’s logic. It’s a tax, because you only pay fines when you commit an act. Or is it a tax because you pay the IRS?   Whatever, in order to not pay, you have to sign up for the exchanges, which then “ping” the IRS to find out about your income.

Luckily, I have a bit of an attention deficit.*  So, then I start thinking about how much Congress should owe the rest of us because they do nothing – or at least not what we want. The motto ought to be, “It ain’t fine!”

* (: It’s not a disorder if it helps you get through the day.)