•10:01 AM
Crises are times for action. Things happen in times of crisis that never could or would have happened otherwise: Presidents invoke Executive privilege; congress cooperates to move legislation through and the people unite around their leaders in a moment of rare support rather than dissent. Such was the case during our Revolution, the Great Depression and immediately following 9/11. The people realized the true gravity of the situation and looked to leaders to help navigate the Country through those perilous times.Because of the hope for leadership during those events, the people are generally supportive of the policies proposed at the time. In short, it is a time when, politically speaking, things get done and bills get signed into law. It is also an opportunity for ill meaning or self serving politicians to put bills through that appear to address the crisis but are intended to boost their political careers and win votes. We also sadly learn that Executive powers invoked in times of crisis are never forfeited – even when the crisis has subsided. Temporary government programs are the closest thing to immortality.
Rahm Emanuel, White House chief of staff, recently said, “Never let a serious crisis go to waste. It’s an opportunity to do things that you think you could not do before.” Also, recently secretary of state Hillary Clinton stated, “Never waste a good crisis.”
We can see that the White House has, as have other administrations before them, no intention of letting the current crisis pass them by without taking full advantage of the opportunity to push things through that the American People in every other circumstance would not have allowed.
Crises are either real, exaggerated or created. One does not have to think long before they realize this is a true statement. To name just one, think of the War on Terror during the Bush Administration. Certainly there was and is a real threat and crisis from Al Qaida terrorists attacking US interests at home and abroad. However, the crisis that was Al Qaida quickly enveloped Saddam Hussein and his weapons of mass destruction. It also morphed into terrorists at home leading to a loss of individual liberties through warrantless wiretaps and other surveillance activities on American citizens. The crisis involving Al Qaida is real. The crisis involving Iraq was created at worst, exaggerated at best. And at one time, a majority of Americans fell for it.
Such is the case with health care reform. We are not in a crisis and should not be tricked to think we are in one. The only crisis involving health care is the $68 trillion un-funded Medicare liability on the government’s books. This is a crisis of government – not health care.
However, the crisis that is being portrayed from Capital hill is not that one. It is a crisis that the health care system is broken – not one that says the government’s insurance agency, or Medicare, is broken. It is the painting of a picture that small businesses will be hurt by the insurance companies – not that every American will be hurt by the additional $1 trillion in annual taxes they will have to pay for this new system. They are painting the picture that millions aren’t getting the care they need under our current system – not that 10 years from now, if the status quo is unchanged, anyone on Medicare won’t receive the care they need. Finally, the President is also framing health care reform as the key to our economic recovery. Excuse me? Health care was not the cause of, nor is it the solution out from, our current economic woes.
They are trying to scare the public into a support role by creating a health care crisis. They have done this with other crises a hundred times before. Other notable ones would be the war on drugs, the war on terror, the war on poverty, the war on energy, and the war on global warming.
In this instance, they are changing the focus of the crisis from the one that does exist, to one they can make appear to exist. Are their problems with American health care? Yes, of course. There are problems in every single industry in the whole entire world because we live in an imperfect world. However, those problems do not constitute a crisis. For 95% of Americans, the health care system works well. For those 5% that it doesn’t, there are changes that can be made but those changes don’t include a government takeover.
Why are they creating this crisis? There are really two reasons: first, it is the only way the government can make changes they desire for their advantage and make it appear as though it is helping rather than hurting and second, find a solution to the $68 trillion unfunded liability.
By creating the disease and the cure, the Government appears to be the perfect doctor for our ills. We accept the side effects because we would rather be alive than not. Truly the government has been a huge part of the disease. They have not been the only problem – but they have been part of it.
As with any pain, disease or illness, whatever brought it on we naturally seek to avoid in the future. If a restaurant gave you food poisoning – you don’t return there. If you burn your hand on a hot stove, you try and avoid touching it when hot. When we know someone has the H1N1 flu, we don’t go around them.
Since government involvement has been an integral part of the problem, why would more of it be a solution? As stated in my earlier post, the right kind of government involvement could help – but more of the same will just perpetuate, and bring about even sooner, the real crisis – the ever increasing unfunded liability.
The only way to pay for that $68 trillion is by bringing in more money. The other way to solve the problem is to end government involvement in Medicare – but once powers have been assumed by the government, it is almost impossible for them to give them back. That is the true reason why they are trying to create a new, single payer option. If the government can collect the health care premiums as a tax from all 300,000,000 Americans, you can raise a lot of money. Not only would this allow them to perpetuate government run health care, but this would also save the Democrat party from the disaster it would have caused and been blamed for because it was them, under president Johnson, who started the country on this course to financial insolvency. This new source of income would also be used for other entitlement programs – all the while making it appear to be the magical elixir to a problem caused by capitalism – rather than the true source - government and insurance monopolies.
New government health care is like new wine in old bottles – and these bottles can’t take much more.
We must be aware of the fact that politicians use and create crises for their own political motives whereby they trick and deceive the population to support their measures for what appears to be the good of all. They do this, in the words of Rahm Emanuel and Hillary Clinton, by “never wasting a good crisis.”
Jefferson stated, “The greatest calamity which could befall us would be submission to a government of unlimited powers.”
Times of crisis are times when Governments assume these powers. Be aware of the true crisis. It's not health care - it is our representatives unwise stewardship over the government and its resources. If they had been faithful over much, they could be trusted over more. But whereas they have not been wise stewards with what they have been given, what they have been trusted with should be reduced.
Let us not be short sighted so as to forego even more liberties and allow the government even more control over the sovereign people by giving them power over life and more over property. We have a constitution that limits government for a reason. Let us stand by it or amend it as a people. But lets at least acknowledge it as the supreme law of the land. Thomas Jefferson also said, "Let no more be heard of confidence in men, but rather bind them down by the chains of the Constitution." Let us bind government by the Constitution and thereby free the people.
2 comments:
Ken, do you have a source for that $68 trillion number you mention? That seems unrealistically high to me. Thanks for another great post!
-Mike
Mike,
Glad you liked the post. Here is the reference for that number: http://www.nationalreview.com/nrof_bartlett/bartlett200504280951.asp
I have seen even higher projections than that one. The lowest I have seen is in the $35 trillion range - which is still huge.
Thanks again brother Mike!
Ken