From Superpower to Third-World?
Gary Loftis
April 21, 2009
On the current course, the Obama Administration and the 101st Congress are ignoring their prescribed roles in the Constitution and will preside over the decline of the greatest economic and political superpower in the world´s history into just another struggling socialist state. The 9th and 10th Amendments to the same Constitution that they are ignoring, give the powers that they are usurping to the people and the states.
First among the Federal transgressions is the takeover of private businesses. In Congressional hearings, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R, MN) repeatedly asked Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to cite the Constitutional reference under which the administration was bailing out and assuming direction of private banks. He was unwilling to give a straight answer, because he was unable to. The Constitution does not grant the federal government the power to run, let alone assume control of, private businesses. Private sector business is not addressed in the Constitution, so, according to the 10th Amendment ("The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."), operation and regulation of private business are delegated to the people and the states, respectively. In assuming direction of banks, insurance companies, auto manufacturers, and whatever other industries are in their sights, the Federal government is acting far outside its Constitutional role.
Worse than the unconstitutional facets of the government´s actions are the economic risks they pose. The US government has a track record for wasteful and irresponsible spending and poor debt management that would make it a poor credit risk were it a business. The federal budget is bloated by social engineering programs (e.g., Head Start) that have been on the books for decades with no validation and no demonstrable benefit. The Department of Education has thrown billions at education, yet US students consistently score near the bottom in standardized tests. Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid are Ponzi schemes that would make Bernie Madoff blush. The House Bank was forced to close under the weight of the bad checks and abuse of House members.
Now the same politicians and bureaucrats want to manage the banking industry and tell GM, Ford, and Chrysler how to build cars? If the federal track record is an indication of what we can look forward to, you will have to know a politician to get a loan and cars will be made of wood by-products (small carbon footprint), carry two small people, be limited to 30 mph by their tiny engines, and cost $100,000.
Beyond the Constitutional infractions already in evidence, the president´s budget requests blank checks for "healthcare reform" and "renewable fuels," which apparently are Obamaspeak for nationalized healthcare and power regulation. There are no program specifics or blueprints -- just a "trust me!" Such a trust carries huge downside. As our population ages, health care alone will constitute one-fifth or more of our economy, more if government bureaucracy is involved. Ask any doctor who practiced in the 1950s, ´60s, or ´70s what has made medical care so expensive. He will tell you government regulation, documentation, and cost caps. You see, the government dictates what medical professionals and institutions can charge Medicare/Medicaid patients for a treatment or procedure (often a quarter or less of what they regularly charge), so the remaining cost gets rolled into the bills of patients not covered by insurance. If everyone´s health care is provided by the government, the profit incentive for a medical practice or full-service hospital will wither, resulting in a scarcity of medical care and, ultimately, rationing. A superpower with insufficient quality health care will quickly become a second-rate nation.
More insidious than nationalized health care, national regulation of power sources and generation has the potential to reduce the US to Third-World status in a generation. Like it or not, the engine of Liberty runs on fossil fuel; there is no current alternative, and it would take a decade or more to get a nuclear facility on line. The Obama Administration and Congress are locked into the man-made global warming dogma and are determined to force alternative fuel development by using taxes to discourage use of oil and coal (e.g., "Cap and Trade"). The result would cripple US commerce and place huge financial burdens on families. If you liked $4/gallon gasoline, you will love $10 gas and $1 per kilowatt hour electric bills … and you can bet the price won´t go down when/if the government develops an alternative. When has the price of a government service ever gone down?
What can "We the People" do to stop all this? First, go to http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html#Am9 and educate yourself about the Constitution. Second, call/write/email your congressional representative, your Senators, and the White House and demand that the government divest itself of all private company holdings and that any proposed changes to health care and energy policy be subjected to extensive public hearings. Finally, you can remember how those elected officials reacted the next time they come up for election. Otherwise, we will have government "of the people, by the political class, and for the power brokers."
Thomas Jefferson would cry!
Copyright 2009, Gary Loftis. All Rights Reserved.
First among the Federal transgressions is the takeover of private businesses. In Congressional hearings, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R, MN) repeatedly asked Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to cite the Constitutional reference under which the administration was bailing out and assuming direction of private banks. He was unwilling to give a straight answer, because he was unable to. The Constitution does not grant the federal government the power to run, let alone assume control of, private businesses. Private sector business is not addressed in the Constitution, so, according to the 10th Amendment ("The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."), operation and regulation of private business are delegated to the people and the states, respectively. In assuming direction of banks, insurance companies, auto manufacturers, and whatever other industries are in their sights, the Federal government is acting far outside its Constitutional role.
Worse than the unconstitutional facets of the government´s actions are the economic risks they pose. The US government has a track record for wasteful and irresponsible spending and poor debt management that would make it a poor credit risk were it a business. The federal budget is bloated by social engineering programs (e.g., Head Start) that have been on the books for decades with no validation and no demonstrable benefit. The Department of Education has thrown billions at education, yet US students consistently score near the bottom in standardized tests. Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid are Ponzi schemes that would make Bernie Madoff blush. The House Bank was forced to close under the weight of the bad checks and abuse of House members.
Now the same politicians and bureaucrats want to manage the banking industry and tell GM, Ford, and Chrysler how to build cars? If the federal track record is an indication of what we can look forward to, you will have to know a politician to get a loan and cars will be made of wood by-products (small carbon footprint), carry two small people, be limited to 30 mph by their tiny engines, and cost $100,000.
Beyond the Constitutional infractions already in evidence, the president´s budget requests blank checks for "healthcare reform" and "renewable fuels," which apparently are Obamaspeak for nationalized healthcare and power regulation. There are no program specifics or blueprints -- just a "trust me!" Such a trust carries huge downside. As our population ages, health care alone will constitute one-fifth or more of our economy, more if government bureaucracy is involved. Ask any doctor who practiced in the 1950s, ´60s, or ´70s what has made medical care so expensive. He will tell you government regulation, documentation, and cost caps. You see, the government dictates what medical professionals and institutions can charge Medicare/Medicaid patients for a treatment or procedure (often a quarter or less of what they regularly charge), so the remaining cost gets rolled into the bills of patients not covered by insurance. If everyone´s health care is provided by the government, the profit incentive for a medical practice or full-service hospital will wither, resulting in a scarcity of medical care and, ultimately, rationing. A superpower with insufficient quality health care will quickly become a second-rate nation.
More insidious than nationalized health care, national regulation of power sources and generation has the potential to reduce the US to Third-World status in a generation. Like it or not, the engine of Liberty runs on fossil fuel; there is no current alternative, and it would take a decade or more to get a nuclear facility on line. The Obama Administration and Congress are locked into the man-made global warming dogma and are determined to force alternative fuel development by using taxes to discourage use of oil and coal (e.g., "Cap and Trade"). The result would cripple US commerce and place huge financial burdens on families. If you liked $4/gallon gasoline, you will love $10 gas and $1 per kilowatt hour electric bills … and you can bet the price won´t go down when/if the government develops an alternative. When has the price of a government service ever gone down?
What can "We the People" do to stop all this? First, go to http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html#Am9 and educate yourself about the Constitution. Second, call/write/email your congressional representative, your Senators, and the White House and demand that the government divest itself of all private company holdings and that any proposed changes to health care and energy policy be subjected to extensive public hearings. Finally, you can remember how those elected officials reacted the next time they come up for election. Otherwise, we will have government "of the people, by the political class, and for the power brokers."
Thomas Jefferson would cry!
Copyright 2009, Gary Loftis. All Rights Reserved.
Print
Email
