Health Care - A Government Agency

While the Stimulus, TARP, bailouts and all other recent government attempts at fixing the United States economic mess have failed, the government doesn't take a step back and start to think perhaps they're going in the wrong direction. Instead, they decide to tackle health care. Yep, when you're batting zero you may as well swing for the fences and ruin more lives.

We've all heard the argument before. When sensible people think about government run health care, they think about the efficiency of the post office and the DMV and wonder "if the health of my family or myself is at risk, do I want a bureaucrat deciding if I get the right treatment?" Then of course there's the politics behind it. If lung cancer has a better lobbyist group in one election year than breast cancer, guess what cancer is getting more money?

Now let's talk about employer mandates. The administration wants to require all small businesses to carry health care for employees. As a small business owner, that makes me want to close my doors and get a government job - maybe at the DMV. I'm in business to make money, and I'll hire as many people as I need to in order to succeed. If I don't offer good compensation, health care, and/or other benefits than employment at my company is less attractive than working elsewhere. Forcing employers to pay health care puts an enormous burden on businesses, preventing them from being able to invest in their growth. When it's hard for businesses to grow, many shut down. When businesses shut down, less people are employed. When less people are employed, less taxes get paid. When less taxes get paid, more money gets printed. And the cycle continues.

When will they get it? Government is the source of all of these problems, not the solution.

Homeland Security Definitions under the Obama Administration

Please take note of the following terms now used under the Obama administration. We were promised change, and we certainly got it:

When you are referring to shoe bombs, dirty bombs, suicide bombs, and commercial airlines being flown into buildings make sure you do not use the outdated word terrorism. The T-word is too inflammatory. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, whose office was created for the purpose of combating the T-word, now uses the term Man-Caused Disasters.

Please do not reference illegal immigration as reasons for favoring border security. Secretary Napolitano has made a very compelling case for border security by referencing how the 9-11 hijackers snuck into the United States through the Canadian border.

Although the administration is working so hard on moving us from the politics of fear, there are of course exceptions: They include Republicans, Conservatives, Libertarians, opponents to illegal immigration, opponents to an oversized federal government, opponents to bailouts, the pro-life movement, veterans returning from combat, and anyone who has attended a Tea Party. These deviants are known as right wing extremists. Feel free to also call them terrorists.

100 days ago, Islamic Jihadists and Somali pirates were the enemy. Today, I'm on Homeland Security's watch list.

Let's Negotiate with Criminals

So the Obama administration is going around making sure the Somali pirates are being classified as criminals, because the word "terrorist" has been completely eliminated from Washington the day our President was inaugurated. Unfortunately, only the word went went away.

But fine, if you want to call these guys criminals rather than terrorists, let's just pay them 2 million, and get the captain the hell out of there. We don't negotiate with terrorists, but we surely negotiate with criminals. Just look at how Congress has been meeting with Wall Street. We have criminals negotiating with criminals all the time.

Once we get him back, shoot them out of the water. In fact, why aren't we fitting all of our cargo ships, cruise ships, and other non military water transportation with machine gun turrets and a trained security force to prevent this from happening?

Even if we don't shoot them out of the water, what's 2 million? We're just printing it anyway.

Prediction: Geithner Gone by April 1st

I can be wrong, but I want to be on record with this prediction.

Wednesday 3/19: Senator Chris Dodd blames the White House for changes to the executive pay restrictions in the recent stimulus plan, which allowed for the AIG bonuses. Dodd claimed to have no knowledge of the bonuses.

It wouldn't be terribly difficult for the White House to point the finger at Chris Dodd, due to his past record of unbelievable mortage deals from Countrywide, and receiving more political contributions from AIG in 2008 than EITHER presidential candidate.

But instead Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner admits to specifically asking for a loophole allowing for the bonuses to go through, claiming he was afraid the government would get sued otherwise. As if the government has never been sued. Heck, AIG has already sued the US Government over a tax dispute; talk about biting the hand that's holding the I.V.

It seems pretty clear that the administration has asked Geithner to fall on his sword for this one. He's not particularly popular, nor is he seen as competent. This presents a perfect opportunity for the President to identify a scapegoat while throwing a weak link under the bus.

I will refrain from saying anything too negative against Secretary Geithner, because I know people who have met the man and have had only good things to say about him as a person and his intelligence. Besides, the problem will not go away with him, nor will it until we are able to put a stop to the reckless government intervention that is taking a recession - a natural economic phenomena - and using it as an opportunity to transform the economic landscape of the wealthiest and freest nation in the world.

This AIG nonsense is just a ruse to distract us and channel our anger somewhere other than the government. Where's the outrage over Nancy Pelosi refusing to hold a vote over abolishing automatic annual Congressional pay raises? They've done such a great job too, shouldn't their pay increases be done away with?

But I digress. How about Jamie Dimon as the new Treasury Secretary? Nevermind the fact that's he's too smart to take such a job.

Congress says "Tax AIG Bonuses"

There should be no argument from anyone that it's pretty disgusting to see AIG take taxpayer money from you and me, and uses it to reward failure by giving out more bonuses. These guys should never have gotten a dime from the government. This systemic failure is total nonsense; if a company fails let them fail. As a small business owner, I know that if I can't keep my doors open I'm not getting any free money.

HOWEVER - Don't start cheering when Chris Dodd and Nancy Pelosi start talking about taxing these bonuses at such a high rate rate that they get all the money back. Or Barnie Frank saying "We should start exercising our ownership rights." or that "We should take over the company."

The government was stupid enough to give these losers money - no strings attached. You can't change the rules after the fact. And by supporting the government into doing targeted taxing, you're walking down ANOTHER slippery slope. How long before they decide that other companies or industries should also be taxed extra, for whatever reason they see fit? What happens when they go after you?

Next time, let them fail. You can't expect a failed company to take money from the government and be successful. How many success stories are there of people who took welfare money and started a successful business with it?

Incidentally:
Chris Dodd and Barack Obama Top Recipients of AIG Contributions
Will they get taxed excessively on this too?

Churchill not Welcome in the White House

Why are we trying to buddy up with Russia and Iran while snubbing the UK?

I know this sounds like the start of a joke, but this a true story from earlier this week.

Barack Obama and Gordon Brown recently met and exchanged gifts. Mr. Brown gives the President "a pen holder carved from the timbers of the sister ship of the one the White House desk is made from and a first edition of a seven-volume biography of Winston Churchill"

Pretty thoughtful.

Obama's gift: 25 DVD's of classic American movies selected by the American Film Institute (AFI).

Don't get me wrong, I like old movies. But all I could find on Amazon and eBay was AFI's top 100 movies. What happened to the other 75? If I had to guess: The movies with Ronald Reagan and Charlton Heston were removed. After that went any movies that made capitalism look good.

But then again, what did Gordon Brown expect? A few weeks ago the President removed a bust of Winston Churchill from the Oval Office, loaned to the US from the UK after 9/11. It was another thoughtful gesture; a symbol of a man that stood for freedom and opposition to tyranny during some of the darkest days the free world has ever experienced.

Let's hope the Karl Marx bust hasn't yet arrived.

Kerry Angry over Bank's Extravagent Spending

Sen Kerry targets bailout bank over golf soiree

"I'm sick and tired of picking up the newspaper and reading about another idiotic abuse of taxpayer money, while our country is on the brink," Sen. John Kerry, a Massachusetts Democrat, said in a statement released to Reuters.

The hypocrisy and irony! A Massachusetts Democrat who voted for the most massive increase in government spending, that's due to wreck not only the economy, but the economy for our next generation is sick and tired about some bank's abuse of taxpayer money?

Reading this makes me harken back to this anti-drug commercial from the 1980's:



Kerry: Who taught you how to waste money like that?
Banker: I learned it by watching you, Senator!