Using Common Sense

Its a little late now that the House's version of a crap sandwich, sorrry, healthcare bill has passed. But do you remember when there was all this talk about there being an "opt out" clause in the bill? I sure do.

• Health Care Bill Includes Opt-Out Public Option - RawStory

The notion that Democrats wanted people to walk away with was that they could opt out of the government option. Not the case. This is from Obama's own mouth.

“What I think is appropriate is that in the same way that everybody has to get auto insurance and if you don't, you're subject to some penalty, that in this situation, if you have the ability to buy insurance, it's affordable and you choose not to do so, forcing you and me and everybody else to subsidize you, you know, there's a thousand dollar hidden tax that families all across America are -- are burdened by because of the fact that people don't have health insurance, you know, there's nothing wrong with a penalty.”

Now, does that sound like you can "opt out"? Of course not, because the "opt-out" is something entirely different altogether. Your state can "opt out" of joining the public option, but you can't opt out of paying for it. Its exactly the same thing that states were dealing with during the stimulus debate. States could opt out from receiving money, but they were still forced to fund it.

• How The Opt-Out Option Works - FoxNews