The tax penalty I pay for renting my apartment dwarfs the ACA's tax penalty

[JDPriestly]

1. Very true. And if you own your home, say you live in your parents' home and it's paid for,

you also pay a tax penalty. Of course, you are better off financially than you would be if you were buying your house and paying your mortgage.

Renters do have to pay more. Our tax system does give incentives to homebuyers and to those who buy insurance.

And in a way the rationale is similar.

We reward people for taking responsibility for a property and for paying for their own healthcare.

Both ends are desirable in our society. That's why.

We want people to own their homes so that they will maintain them. We want people to buy health insurance so they don't have to rely on the government's covering the cost of their emergency care.

In states that don't fully implement the ACA, those that choose not to expand Medicaid, who will pay the cost of care for their indigent or low-income citizens when they go to the hospital for care?

Will the federal government pick up the tab? Or the state? Or will the cost be spread out among those who pay for insurance? I suspect the last alternative is what will happen.