by Sam Pierce
The full extent of federal government meddling remains to be seen. Given the recent demonstrations of our irresponsible government’s lust for control of the private sector coupled with the poor decisions made by 52% of the nation’s voters, it is hard to imagine that there will be any upper (or is it lower?) limit to the metastasis of the tumor otherwise known as the federal government. Perhaps there will one day be no Charmin to squeeze pursuant to federal regulations that limit toilet paper thickness and quality to please the environmentalist left. It won’t matter if fingers get soiled due to sub-par TP as long as the luxurious decadence of soft and absorbent TP is not enjoyed by tree-hating citizens… and as long as the unfortunate wiper doesn’t use too much water or any polluting soap in cleaning those fingers.
I wonder how many people ever stop to consider the consequences of this unchecked growth? Certainly there would be some, a portion of the feckless fifty two (FFT) percent, who would not mind any government intrusion as long is it meant a lessened personal responsibility. I would bet these people will still desire individual rights even without individual responsibility. Imagine the emotional state of the portion of the FFT that slowly come to realize that their thoughtless casting of votes and contributions in the direction of undefined “hope” and fuzzy “change” have led to unintended consequences in the form of government controls in their own lives. The power players in the FFT will likely feel no ill effects as they will not have to suffer under the programs they support for “the good of the people.” It is tragic, but not surprising that the most culpable of the FFT will avoid the misery they impose.
The seemingly endless supply of magical government cash that is being approved to “save” our struggling economy flows from a secret money spring on Fantasy Island and there are no strings attached to the generosity of the flitting fairies that control the flow with a pinch of Pixie Dust. At least I hope this is the case, otherwise there might be, what’s the word? Oh yes, consequences! Let us set aside the abundant bail outs for a moment and turn our attention to something equally frightening, the agenda set forth by:
Grand Chancellor Elect Barack Obama has grand plans to increase government dependence with a dash of nationalization of industry to combat the problems of energy consumption and unemployment. Of course we, the bitter masses are not to concern ourselves with the origins of the revenue required for “Big Brother” Barry’s plans (perhaps it will be the previously mentioned stream) as it is part of the “change” for which we are expected to “hope.” Any means to “Big Brother” Barry’s ends will be justified as long as he can impose upon the electorate in such a way that he is able to realize his goals.
The Obama-Biden comprehensive New Energy for America plan will:
- Help create five million new jobs by strategically investing $150 billion over the next ten years to catalyze private efforts to build a clean energy future.
- Within 10 years save more oil than we currently import from the Middle East and Venezuela combined.
- Put 1 million Plug-In Hybrid cars — cars that can get up to 150 miles per gallon — on the road by 2015, cars that we will work to make sure are built here in America.
- Ensure 10 percent of our electricity comes from renewable sources by 2012, and 25 percent by 2025.
- Implement an economy-wide cap-and-trade program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2050.
The fact that Jesse Jackson is trumpeting this subject should provide a series of red flags for the thinking observer. In a November 25 column in The Chicago Sun-Times, Jackson portrays Obama as a Michael Jordan of government dynasties.
It’s crunch time, and nobody wants the ball — except the student of basketball, President-elect Barack Obama. He realizes he can’t wait until January. So Monday, he announced his economic team and rolled out his commitment to a major recovery program, said to be $700 billion over two years or more. He chose experienced pros — Lawrence Summers, former Treasury secretary, and Tim Geithner, the current head of the New York Federal Reserve Bank — to head his economic team. He has announced that he will hit the ground running in January. Stock markets across the world responded. The star player stood up, demanded the ball, and said he’d try to make the play.
That’s half the battle, but only half. Just as in basketball, demanding the ball isn’t enough. You’ve got to make the shot, or make the assist so another can make it. The question now is whether Obama’s plans will score — whether they are big enough to meet the challenge that we face.
Consider the auto industry. Obama has called for coming to the industry’s aid, but has said that any help must come with conditions. Those conditions will surely include accelerating the move to hybrid and electric vehicles, part of a major drive to reduce our dependence on foreign oil while dealing with the threat of global warming.
But to be competitive, the automakers need more than a bridge loan. U.S. companies spend more per car on health care than on steel. Foreign competitors don’t have the burden. As a senator, Obama introduced a bill suggesting that the government take over the costs of health care for the retired in exchange for greater movement on gas mileage efficiency.
So Reverend Jackson believes that the government should dip into it’s magical money stream and chuck some cash in the direction of the UAW in order to jump-start the economy. Of course the slam dunk will involve socialized medicine (at least for retired auto-workers), strict mileage mandates (to please the enviro-marxist constituency), a mandate to produce plug-in vehicles (which will need to be powered by hope and change since nuclear and coal electricity generation are taboo in the all-knowing leftist Shangri-la.) I wonder if the health care costs are what bothers Reverend Jackson, or if he is really just upset that the car companies don’t get hit harder on steel pricing? When the inauguration is over and the after-glow has begun to dim, maybe he can shake-down the steel companies with threats of demonstrations unless they raise their prices.
A thinking person, or anti-FFT, will be curious how the American automotive industry will suddenly become profitable once they get a “bridge loan” that carries expensive conditions and are relieved of healthcare costs for retirees. We need not rack our brains to find the hidden logic. It isn’t there. Adding a debt to the government and further regulation and restrictions is a recipe for failure. The notion of taking over the healthcare of the retirees is little more than another leap toward the total implementation of socialized medicine in our great country. The automakers will be almost guaranteed to fail and there will be a large group of people added to the ranks of those dependent upon the government for healthcare. The failings of the automotive companies are likely to prompt further government involvement and who knows, maybe the next step will be socialized healthcare coverage for UAW members.
What if there is no secret money stream on “Fantasy Island?” What if the bail-outs, “green-jobs”, socialized medicine, etc. have to be paid for by the taxpayers? What if more and more of us are escorted into the web of government dependence as taxes grow beyond our capacity to pay them and still provide for ourselves? What if the incremental interferences of the government in businesses result in nationalization of several industries such as automotive, oil, or news distribution?
Fret not, the majority has spoken and they, the FFT would not mind if we one day car-pool to our government jobs in “Victory Automobiles” while listening to MSNBC radio (the official government approved news source… and only one on the air) and enjoying “Obama Cheese” sandwiches produced from milk processed in a former Exxon refinery.
Cross-posted at: Malignant Liberal Idiocy
