In his Freeman column, Sheldon Richman discusses the controversy du jour, namely the mandate from HHS that all employers, even religious institutions, must cover contraception and abortifacients if they provide health insurance for their employees. It’s just another extension of the authoritarian state, but one that has caused more opposition than most. The trouble is that we have gotten into the habit of using insurance to cover all sorts of everyday expenditures. That, in turn, is due to the fact that employer-provided insurance is a tax-free benefit, which makes no sense.
I would add that this entire controversy (like many, many others) would not exist if it weren’t for the income tax. Undoubtedly the income tax is among the greatest blunders we have ever made.
