Big Government, Big Mistake

by Frank DeMartini

The biggest success of the “Spending Bill,” oops, “Stimulus Bill,” is ending. Yup, that is right; “Cash for Clunkers” is gone. Why? Because it was such a big success, the government ran out of money for the program not once, but twice. This time President Obama is shutting it down. No more money. It is finished. The official spin is that it brought the automobile industry back from destruction. Or, did it? 

In my opinion, it is just another example of a government program that did not work contrary to what I said in a prior column. To begin with, the government mistook the popularity of the program and only allocated one billion dollars of stimulus money to the bill. That money ran out in less than two weeks. Then, Congress immediately allocated another two billion dollars. That money is running out in less than four weeks. Another Big Government miscalculation! 

But the problem with “Cash for Clunkers” is even deeper than that. Automobile dealers started threatening this week to stop utilizing the program because they were not getting the government money. They were selling cars under the program and waiting for the checks to show up. Some dealers have not gotten any money at all yet. So, they threatened to stop using the program. Fearing another publicity debacle, a few days later, the President ended the program. Smells fishy right?  Maybe, the dealers will be waiting a long time for the money, and the government wants to stop the bleeding because it cannot handle the demand and does not want the situation to worsen. 

Further, I have been told that there are people in Southern California that are buying crappy cars for $500.00, taking them to a dealer and leaving with a new car. The only problem is that the new car is sometimes heading south of the border. No payments will ever be made. And no repossession because the cars are gone. Really smart, right? Another carefully thought out government plan! The taxpayers are now paying for cars that may not get paid for or kept in America. Big Government, Big Mistake! 

“Cash for Clunkers” is just another example of a long list of government failures. It seems that every time the government gets involved in anything domestic, it fails. The first example shall be Social Security. To most people this is the most successful of Roosevelt’s New Deal. Well, it is bankrupt and many people in my age group believe they will never see a dime from any money contributed to the program. 

From its conception, Social Security has been problem-filled. Congress has tried to save it countless times and it still goes broke every few years. I remember during the Reagan administration, we were promised that Social Security was fundamentally sound after another tax hike to keep it funded. How many times have we heard this same story since then? And, again Social Security is broke. Big Government, Big Mistake! 

Do we even need to talk about the great success of Lyndon Johnson’s “Great Society?” Or, should I just say that most of the programs are no longer in existence and those that are, well, they are broke. Let us start with Medicaid and Medicare. Both parts of the Johnson plan and both are broken and broke. 

The welfare programs of the Great Society have pretty much been eliminated. And, who eliminated or fixed them?  A Democratic President that admitted they needed fixing. But, did he do it with a Democratic Congress? No, he did it with a Republican Congress. In summary, the Great Society is just another example of: Big Government, Big Mistake!

How about a few words now about the biggest government failure ever: the United States Postal Service. If there was ever an entity that needed to be privatized, this is it. Take it away from the government and it will immediately become a profitable and lean organization, instead of the nearly bankrupt mess it is. Who can be proud of an organization that’s claim to fame in the last twenty years is coining the phrase, “Going Postal!” Big Government, Big Mistake! 

So, why do we insist on creating more programs? ObamaCare is the latest program on the table. I and my blogging partner Ira Schwartz have written ad nauseam about this pending social disaster. The people are openly rebelling against it. And yet, Congress does not get it. The Democratic Congress has stated that this bill is going to be rammed through even if it does not get one Republican vote; even if the Blue Dog Democrats oppose it; even if they must invoke Reconciliation in the Senate; and most of all, even if the majority of the country opposes it. 

Barney Frank told his constituents at a town hall meeting this week that he did not even care what he was being asked about the health care bill. ObamaCare was good for the country and it was going to happen. He did not even answer questions asked because he did not have respect for the people asking them. Nancy Pelosi does not care.  Barbara Boxer does not care.  Harry Reid does not care. President Obama does not care.  It is going to happen. And, when it does, what will be the result: Big Government, Big Mistake! 

Do everything to stop it for the reasons cited in prior columns and because it is bad for the country. Force the Democrats to come up with a bipartisan health care bill that the whole country can be happy with! We cannot afford one more, Big Government, Big Mistake!


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Posted Aug 23rd 2009 at 2:44 pm in Featured Story, Politics | 30 Comments