Recently we spoke with John Niewicki, co-founder of a new coalition working to enact a new amendment to the United States Constitution, titled the “Mandate Amendment” which would prohibit Congress from making any law (mandating) “the purchase of a product or service from a private entity.”
The name of the group is the “Mandate Amendment Coalition” and currently comprises members from throughout the country.
What is the “Mandate Amendment”?
The Mandate Amendment is intended to stop the Government from mandating that US citizens to purchase any goods or services through private entities, like they are doing with Obamacare. The government should not be allowed to force its citizens to purchase anything though threat or penalties.
Why the “Mandate Amendment?” Why not just repeal Obamacare?
We have already seen how the repel process works, it doesn’t. The House had the chance to repeal it already and they didn’t. Congress has only one interest and that is to stay in office, this is done through money, and right now the money is coming from the insurance lobby who has everything to gain from Obamacare.
What people fail to realize is now that Obamacare, with its mandates has been “legalized” through the Roberts decision in the Supreme Court, Congress can now follow this lead with anything. This means that anyone with enough power and money which translates into power, whether it is the insurance industry or the oil industry, could conceivably mandate the purchase of their products through legislation.
Let’s say the oil industry decides they want everyone to use oil, if they could get enough support from members of Congress, legislation could be drafted which would make it mandatory that all homes use oil. While it may sound far-fetched, the precedent has been set.
Talk about the Roberts decision, why do you think this sets a bad precedent?
As I said, this now opens the door for more mandates which could be passed by Congress. The Roberts decision states that the Obamacare mandate is just a tax, which Congress can legally enact. This means they can now pass other mandates calling them taxes.
The real problem here is, as we have seen with other mandates, such as the IRS, Social Security, Public Welfare and such, once a program is started it cannot be controlled and is never cut back or stopped. Public programs, as we have seen and will see with Obamacare, can’t fund themselves. Eventually they will run out of money and the tax payers will have to foot more and more of the bill. This is why communism and socialism fail, there comes a time when the people have no more money to take.
Remember the government doesn’t produce anything; it is private enterprise which creates wealth. Once you reach a point where an individual can no longer make a profit, the individual will stop producing and live off the government. There will come a time when more people ae taking from the government than are putting into it. Some say we have already reached that point.
Does this mean you are against mandates such as mandatory automobile insurance as well?
No, we are only talking about federal mandates, something like automobile insurance is decided at the state level, as is allowed in the United States Constitution.
Back to the Mandate Amendment – this must be a pretty long and involved process, and as you say, the damage has already been done, shouldn’t you try to do something more immediate?
There are others who are trying to stop Obamacare. For example there are several lawsuits being brought by Christian and other religious organizations challenging parts of the laws and there are some members of Congress who are trying to defund Obamacare.
And you are right, this will be a long process, but those of us in the group aren’t doing it for ourselves, we are doing it for our children and grandchildren. They are the ones who will be burdened by the effects of these mandates, whether it is Obamacare or any others which may come. We could very easily give up and try something easier but I don’t want to leave my daughter with the burden of this. This has been the tactic in the past, kick the can down the road and let someone else deal with it. Well, we can no longer afford to do that.
What if the Founding Fathers had decided to let someone else worry about it? We would still be under colonial rule, although more than likely because of our natural resources we would have become a battle ground for the last two hundred years. They did what they felt was necessary and so are we.
So you don’t think this is an unattainable goal?
We think it is absolutely attainable. Some of us may not see it in our lifetimes, but we believe we can do it, and are committed to the process. And even this is only a small step, it is just the first of many which need to be taken, but we believe it can and will be achieved, and that others will see that common, everyday citizens in this country can still make a difference.
Looking at the wording of the Mandate Amendment, does this mean that the government can’t purchase anything?
That’s a good question and one we are asked often. The answer is no. Congress does not mandate expenditures, but rather it appropriates funding for legislation passed. The Mandate Amendment would not encumber federal government spending; it would continue as it has for many decades.
We have seen in the past that many of these efforts have seemingly only benefited one group of people or one political party. Is this true of the Mandate Amendment Coalition?
Absolutely not. In fact we believe it is in the interest of all citizens, no matter what their political affiliation to join in this effort. For example as I mentioned earlier, there is nothing to stop, say the oil companies from mandating the use of fossil fuels, which certainly will anger the environmentalists. We have heard in the last week that there is a chance of the President mandating an assault weapons ban, which will affect legal gun owners. And mandates, as shown by Obamacare will harm free enterprise which will anger conservatives and harm us all.
Finally, if someone wants to help, what can they do?
The best thing they can do is go to our website, www.mandateamendment.com, and read about us there. They can also sign up for our newsletter via our email link. We never give out anyone’s email address and don’t try to sell anything to you. We are strictly non-profit. We also have a Facebook page, at www.facebook.com/mandateamendment, where you can like us as well. We are always looking for people to join us from all walks of life and no matter what your political affiliation.
Thank you John for taking the time to talk to me.
Thank you for having me.
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