Keep in mind that 85% of Americans have health insurance today. Put aside the political heat and pleas for compassion. Instead let’s shed some light on the dimensions of the federal government taking charge of another one sixth of the American economy. Remembering of course that good intentions motivated by compassion are of no value if those feelings lead to the passage of ineffective and debt producing programs.

Take just a few moments to examine a more than 60 year history of  well meaning big government intrusion into areas they had not traditionally played a role. With only the best of intentions social security, medicare and medicaid have become integral national responsibilities. In each case the basic and limited concept of helping the needy has morphed into gigantic bureaucracies going broke. Mismanagement, corruption, waste and fraud have become synonymous with all these programs. None are sustainable, as they have evolved into entities they were never intended to be.

Academic performance has only gone down since the federal government stuck it’s spastic hands into education.

Amtrak and the postal service lose billions of our dollars each year.

Fannie mae and freddie mac falsified earnings during the 1990’s, wrote billions of dollars of bad loans to satisfy political ends and surprise surprise, we are left to fund a flood of foreclosures trying to end a terrible recession. Every time alarm bells were rung, political hacks (our elected representatives) told us they were false alarms. Once the poop hit the fan these very same representatives blame everyone other than themselves. Their answer - more government. Hence the results of all this government goodness. Be wary. Be very wary of well intended big government solutions. 

Remember the “luxury” tax on yachts? It was passed with great enthusiasm. Stick it to the rich and raise tax revenue. Well intended and manipulative. Oops! Less tax revenue came in and thousands of blue collar workers were put out of work. Government interference at it’s best.

“Cash for clunkers” - a $4500 subsidy to boost car sales and clean the environment. Result - charities that had depended on those old clunkers no longer getting cars. The theory is to accumulate national debt by having one American pay part of the cost for another American to buy a car. The bill - 3 billion dollars more of debt. How about subsidies for appliances, electronic equipment or a dozen other industries that are hurting in a recession? And what happens when the subsidy ends? 

You can count on it with the certainty that the sun will rise in the east. When the government sticks it’s well meaning hands into a free market in order to artificially stimulate business, spending or aid a select group, there will be negative unintended consequences. When it is all said and done, good Americans who were not on the radar of the “do-gooders’ will be injured. If housing prices are artificially held up, millions of financially conservative people who used discretion during the heady bubble times and who have good credit will be aced out of the market. Government rewards and encourages those who spend beyond their means, while hurting the financially sensible. Warms the heart doesn’t it?

Health care costs need to be controlled and insurance reformed. Few would disagree with this proposition. To paraphrase one concerned American speaking at a town hall meeting, ‘the President took 6 months to choose a dog, but tells us we must quickly accept a 1,000 page Rub Goldberg maze of regulations, panels, mandates and more that the CB O says will cost in excess of one trillion dollars, will require massive additional taxation and will leave most of the uninsured without insurance. 

Americans are rising in opposition because they have the common sense to learn from experience. With each and every effort by our President and his supporters to marginalize and illegitimate American’s concern over reckless legislation, Obama’s vision of “health reform” will die a slow painful death. Rather appropriate wouldn’t you say? Hail to Americans!