10th Amendment key

In Mr. Bourget’s letter on Cal Thomas’ editorial on the 10th Amendment, the author tried vainly to use historical perspective to prove how weak Mr. Thomas’ argument was. He ignored the real-world circumstances on this issue.

There is no federal agency that regulates the insurance (health, auto, life, etc.) industry. Insurance is regulated in the state in which it conducts business within its “police” power, fairly regulating the health and welfare of its own citizens. This is a power the states did not surrender when the Constitution was ratified (Gordon v United States, 1864; Chicago etc. v McGuire, 1911). If health care reform is passed by Congress, it will conceivably infringe on the state’s ability to exercise its sovereign power to regulate the insurance industry within its jurisdiction. That’s the 10th Amendment argument Mr. Bourget missed.

I can see several states and insurance companies lining up at the front door of the Supreme Court now.

Robert Walston

Liberty Lake