The first thing I thought of when I saw this was to wonder how long it will take before nobody in Massachusetts can remember — or cares to think of — a time when health care ("for one’s own good") wasn’t mandated by the state as a matter of law; you know, like imagine the funny blank  stare you would get if you talked about a time when a person could just hop in an automobile and take off, and as long as he didn’t hurt anyone — except himself, which was presumed to be his right to do — nobody would have even considered that he ought to be stopped, and even if so, certainly not by someone brandishing a truncheon and a gun.

How the times change.

I do note, however, that the requirement seems to apply only to "taxpayers," with the loss of a (pitiful) standard deduction as penalty for non-compliance with state diktat. Clever, eh? Just "insignificant" enough as to not make it worth anyone’s while to fight — until such time as nobody remembers when it wasn’t.

(link: beck)