@Rabbitguy - See above, with emphasis added: "There is no precedent for the FEDERAL government imposing penalties on individuals for failure to participate in a market."
The auto insurance issue you speak of is a state issue. Not all states require auto insurance. Further, some states only penalize a citizen for not having insurance in the event that he is found liable for harm and is unwilling or unable to arrange a private settlement. The choice to not drive is a viable one in some areas, as is the option to self-insure. There are also states with no mandates, should one find the requirement onerous in his current state.
One can't move to another state to escape a federal mandate.
To your other point: Yes, some republican solutions require expansion of powers. These aren't "free-market solutions," no matter what Romney and his ilk choose to call them. Republican politicians generally only differ from new leftist politicians on which rights they would erode, not in whether they choose to defend liberty and free markets.
@Rabbitguy - See above, with emphasis added: "There is no precedent for the FEDERAL government imposing penalties on individuals for failure to participate in a market."
The auto insurance issue you speak of is a state issue. Not all states require auto insurance. Further, some states only penalize a citizen for not having insurance in the event that he is found liable for harm and is unwilling or unable to arrange a private settlement. The choice to not drive is a viable one in some areas, as is the option to self-insure. There are also states with no mandates, should one find the requirement onerous in his current state.
One can't move to another state to escape a federal mandate.
To your other point: Yes, some republican solutions require expansion of powers. These aren't "free-market solutions," no matter what Romney and his ilk choose to call them. Republican politicians generally only differ from new leftist politicians on which rights they would erode, not in whether they choose to defend liberty and free markets.