Actually, don't you think that the individual mandate is really no different than having to have car insurance (which in and of itself is an individual mandate); where it would be unfair for one or some to drive around without insurance, and when they are in an accident the person/people with insurance have to pay for that person's lack of insurance?
You know ... it's not that I object to the idea of a "mandate," so to speak, for everyone to have to pay for their own health insurance. But I actually better liked the idea of paying for it more like we pay into Social Security ... as a payroll or income tax.
For one, I think that way the government would have a better chance of collecting it .. and also, it wouldn't be the same as people having to come out of their pocket with a large chunk of cash all at once.
That was pretty much the one and only difference between Candidate Obama and Candidate Clinton's health care proposals during the 2008 election. I just liked her's better. 