Grant writing time. Which you’ll understand accounts for the present paucity of posts here. This is a time for dense, persuasive prose, and considerable chest thumping, in order to get our research aims… well, paid for. Aka, begging for money.
Elsewhere, heard on the boob tube:
The POTUS said (I’m paraphrasing), “It’s no different than forcing people to buy car insurance.”
I have a couple problems with that line of reasoning.
1) While lots of people drive, it’s not a law that you do. So in that sense, no, Mr. POTUS, it’s not the same thing, because just being a citizen of the US will subject you to being forced (coerced if you like) to buy health insurance. Practically, there’s no opting out of being a US citizen, like you can opt out of driving. Apples and oranges, sir.
2) Even if you do choose to drive, while auto insurance is mandatory in most states, plenty of people nevertheless drive without it. You need a key (or secret code) to start car, not an insurance policy. In fact, this is why insurance companies offer uninsured motorist coverage; in case you collide with an uninsured motorist the cost to repair your car and/or yourself is covered.
3) Even conceding the auto insurance analogy, arguing that forcing people to do Z is unobjectionable because we already force them to do A, B, C, whatever, is (or should be) some kind of political fallacy.
4) Any government coercion reduces personal liberty.