Wearing the Crown of Solomon? Chief Justice Roberts and the Affordable Care Act “Tax”

Attempting to play the role of King Solomon in his PPACA decision, Chief Justice John Roberts split the baby perversely by ruling it was not a tax under the Anti-Injunction Act, which would have likely deprived the Court of jurisdiction to hear this pre-enforcement challenge to the individual mandate, but it was a tax for taxing and spending purposes even though Congress said it was a “penalty” and not a tax. And the Chief Justice had to twist further his “wisdom” to hold that it was not an unconstitutional direct tax, even though that is exactly what it is, if it is a tax in the first instance.