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Jim Lane

(11,175 posts)
11. Some might choose to be Amish instead.
Tue Jul 1, 2014, 12:27 AM
Jul 2014

As I understand Amish religious belief, they consider any kind of insurance to be disrespectful to God. When Social Security coverage was expanded to agricultural workers, some Amish refused to pay FICA taxes, because they considered (with some justice) that it was an insurance program. The upshot was a statutory amendment, exempting the Amish from Social Security and Medicare. (Of course, one reason for the exemption is that the Amish, through their strong sense of community, take care of each other in ways that largely meet the goals of those government programs.)

Under the Hobby Lobby decision, owners of closely held corporations who become Amish would presumably be able to argue that their entire companies should not have to pay into Social Security or Medicare on behalf of employees, along with not having to pay for the employees' health insurance. That would be a nice little boost to the bottom line.

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