It is simple. It is the institution that has a monopoly on the use of force to achieve its objectives. In short, government is force. There is not a simpler answer. And of course, when classical liberals point this out we are viewed as utopian cranks – as if the government never uses such power of force like a schoolyard bully or a common street thug (i.e. think Al Capone).
So it is a bit humorous when head of the Politburo Rep. Pelosi is “forced” to admit that at base to every government action is a big fat gun stuck in the face of peaceful people. Here is a Youtube clip:
Remember that when you see a calorie count nudgingly placed on a menu, or see a harmless little public service announcement sponsored by the Ad Council too.
And by the way, notice her rhetorical trick. We need government run health care because of the costs of Uncompensated Care. In other words, because of some other government program we imposed years ago we must therefore intervene again. We force hospitals to treat patients without insurance. That may be moral it may not be – but that is not the point. The point is, the “fix” we are getting is because of a prior “fix” the charlatans in DC came up with. And so it goes. See the history of financial regulation for a clearer and more awful illustration.
This is infuriating because many of my friends who have majors related to public health have not even known about the penalty for not buying health care when this topic has come up. All of this rhetoric simply covers up the facts for even college students who should be informed. So frustrating!
Also a thought on the government: a government which is big enough to give us everything we supposedly “want” is also big enough to take everything away that we already have.
Danielle, welcome to a great blog. There is a wealth of seriously considered information here.
You hit the nail on the head.
The only thing preventing government taking everything away from you is for you and many to want to be free, and to act accordingly; otherwise, they will take your freedom.
Wintercow pointed to the paradox of having created a system — namely, Medicare and Medicaid, both of which are bankrupt and unsustainable — the political class has decided to solve the problem with another government program, in this case to force young people to buy overpriced (community-rated) insurance, thus sticking young people with the tab, or part of the tab, unless they choose not to buy, in which case they will be fined by a percentage of their income. In addition, they have added a teaser: you can stay on your parents’ policy until you are 26, and after 2013 if you are still unemployed you can get free coverage, even if you are unemployed and have chosen to paint portraits for a living.
If I were in your place, I would have come to the same conclusion as you. It is a Big Lie. Also, they neglected to observe that the Senate Bill, which is the present law of the land, includes criminal penalties, not just fines, for nonpayment of insurance premiums, as Wintercow’s clip shows.
My advice is to spread the word virally, not only of the above danger, but also of the Unbroken Window.
That was a truly sickening and disturbing display.