Health Care Reform

This health care reform has tentacles.  It will control major aspects of our lives, including our ability to choose.

I know there are still people out there who believe the government is made up of good, selfless people who care only for their fellow man.  But let’s just get over that, shall we?  The government is made up of politicians and bureaucrats, and they are just as interested in themselves as anyone else.  Is it any wonder that people are extremely concerned about the amount of power we are about to let them extend over our lives?  This health care reform will be the death of our freedoms and our rights as human beings.  We will no longer be able to choose what we wish to buy and from whom.  The government will be deciding that from now on when it comes to our health.

H.R. 3590, requires, “…all American citizens and legal residents [to] purchase qualified health insurance coverage” after December 31, 2013.

Notice that it says “qualified” insurance?  That means you don’t get to choose what you want to buy, the government will decide for you.  And actually, it won’t even necessarily be them who decide.  It will most likely be the most convincing lobbyists.  A Christian Science Monitor article written by Dr. Paul Hsieh, co-founder of Freedom and Rights in Medicine (FIRM), discusses the lobbyist problem that came about in Massachusetts after its universal health care plan was implemented.  He found that, “[s]ince 2006, providers have successfully lobbied to include 16 new benefits in the mandatory package (including lay midwives, orthodontics, and drug-abuse treatment), and the state legislature is considering 70 more.” With the economy struggling the way it is, is it really fair to enact health care reform that forces  Americans to insure themselves against things they have no reason to?

This health care reform is also more than likely to impact our unemployment numbers, forcing more people onto the government dole.  How could it not?  The Senate Democrat bill forces employers with 50 or more employees to offer health insurance benefits, or else pay a fine of $750 per person.  It would cost a business with 50 employees $37,500 just to not provide them with benefits.  Imagine how expensive it will be when they do choose to provide them.  This will result in less money for businesses.  That equates to less people being hired, lower wages and/or higher prices for consumers.  Think of how much more of a strain it will now be for employers to take on new employees.  Wouldn’t you think twice before hiring someone new, considering how much it will cost?

It also dampens the entrepreneurial spirit.  If employers want to offer their employees health insurance, it is their right.  But is it the government’s right to force independent business owners to take care of the health of their employees?  When someone decides to start their own business, do we really want to tell them it will require thousands of their own dollars going toward health insurance, on top of the extreme long hours and hard work it takes to be an entrepreneur?  I think it’s time we stopped taking these hard-working, driven people for granted. Pretty soon there won’t be much in it for them to start a business, so why should they?

The government is not our friend.  In my opinion, they should be looked at as an evil octopus, constantly trying to spread its tentacles over everything and everyone in order to achieve more power for itself.  The goal of government is to grow, no matter for what purpose.  Whether it’s to “defeat” global warming or to provide health insurance to Americans, the government is always looking for ways to control our lives, with the guise that they are “saving us” from evil profiteers.  But what we mustn’t forget, before we attempt to strangle these “profit” earners once and for all, is that without them government would no longer be able to support itself.  On second thought….forget I said anything.

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amanda, December 18th 2009 | Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Politics

Relearning History – The Truth About Rockefeller

Remember learning about the so-called “Robber Baron’s” in high school?  Or as Michael Moore would say, those evil capitalists who took all the wealth in the country and left nothing for their fellow man?  The ones who created monopolies by trashing the little guy and charging exorbitant prices to the consumer.  Remember them?

Would it be a big surprise if I told you there was a different story behind these individuals?  That they actually helped the economy grow and helped make consumers and workers better off? Would you be surprised if I told you your teacher may not have told you the truth about men like Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller?

If you are someone who believes companies should be as inefficient as possible, just so long as everyone has a job, you might still believe Rockefeller to be a “Robber Baron”. If you think prices for commodities should stay as high as possible to benefit those in the business, then you might not have liked the guy much.  But if you believe the opposite, read on.

I recently read a fantastic article in the Objective Standard that discusses the real history of John D. Rockefeller, and the process by which his Standard Oil Company rose to claim around 90% of market share in oil refining from 1879-1899.

Unfortunately for most of us, we didn’t get the full story when learning about industrialists such as Rockefeller.  Most of us learned what was written by Ida Tarbell or Henry Lloyd; people who didn’t know much about economics, and were unable to see what Standard Oil did for America.

Because of the wealth generated by Standard Oil, Rockefeller is still able to give away his wealth to this day.  One tribute to his glory is the Rockefeller Center in New York, where they have the annual Rockefeller Tree Lighting.

I encourage people to take a second look at some of the things they learned in school.  The concept of “Robber Barons” and private companies creating “evil” monopolies is simply one of these bits of misinformation.  Read this article, entitled, “Vindicating Capitalism: The Real History of the Standard Oil Company” by Alex Epstein.  It is a little long, but easy to read and well worth it.  Epstein begins by quoting some of the nasty things said about Rockefeller.  The first of which was written in an essay by Henry Lloyd entitled, “The Story of a Great Monopoly”, where he alerts readers to the fact that Standard Oil “…produces only one fiftieth or sixtieth of our petroleum, but dictates the price of all, and refines nine tenths.”

Epstein quickly points out that the information most of us have about Rockefeller is untrue.  Being able to operate in a free economy simply allowed him to produce kerosene and other products better, faster and cheaper than ever before.  Before he had entered the market, no other businessman in the kerosene industry had discovered a way to produce more efficiently, in order to offer a better product at a better price.  Things were mostly done in a sloppy manner, which made the price of kerosene more expensive than it needed to be.  It also made it dangerous.  Because many small business owners in this industry didn’t have the right tools and temperature gauges to properly make kerosene, thousands of  fire deaths were reported each year throughout the 1860’s and 1870’s.

Rockefeller was a smart businessman.  He saw an opportunity to make money in the market by selling a product that people wanted.  And he did it better than anyone else!  He made his refinery bigger, invested in research and development to discover new ways to use resources so less would go to waste, he paid his employees wages higher than market price to attract the best and brightest.  Essentially he made smart decisions where others didn’t.  All of this revolutionized the refining industry.  He created more jobs than would have been created without his brilliant mind and the ability to operate in a free market.  He brought the price of kerosene down for consumers and made it safer.  In 1865 kerosene cost fifty-eight cents a gallon.  Due to competition in a free marketplace (and Rockefeller entering the market), by 1870 it was twenty-six cents a gallon and by 1874, ten cents.  How can anyone be against that?  The truth is that he helped the price go down, not up. He not only paid and treated his employees well, but they were there on their own volition!  He did not force anyone to do anything, whether it was to buy his product or work in his factories.

If we are ever to start understanding the truth about free market capitalism and how well it works, the first step is to get our facts straight.  I know they aren’t, because two years ago as a student teacher I taught a class the lessons from Lloyd and Tarbell, because that was what I was told to teach.  If I had known any better, I would have taught it differently, but I am certain that a majority of teachers would not.  That is why I encourage you to read this article on Rockefeller – and then pass it on to a friend.

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amanda, December 10th 2009 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in History

Must Evil Always Win?

We’ve all heard the phrase before.  We must vote for the “lesser of two evils” each election season.  That’s all we can do.

It is my humble opinion that this way of thinking is what has gotten us into the mess we are in today.  The mess that involves massive amounts of government spending, regulation, debt and new taxes levied on the American taxpayer.

I’d like to briefly quote a few phrases from our Declaration of Independence.

The first quote warns against complacency and the inability to change:

“Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.”

This second quote follows the first, and sums up the reason I no longer believe politicians are the answer to any of our problems. It is us rather:

“But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.”

Some may argue that we do not currently have despots ruling our country.  Well perhaps not yet, but we’re headed down that path.  One example of this is shown when a majority of the members of Congress are still trying to ram through a health care bill, even though a majority of Americans oppose it.  Now I must make it clear that I am not an advocate of democracy.  As stated by Thomas Jefferson, “A democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where fifty-one percent of the people may take away the rights of the other forty-nine.”  I am an advocate of a representative republic which is ruled by the Constitution of the United States.  However, it is a major blow to the taxpayer when a majority of Americans are demanding not to have their income taken for the purpose of crappy health care, and our so-called representatives are essentially saying “too bad, so sad” in response.  It would be perfectly legitimate if 99% of the people wanted government-run health care, and Congress voted it down.  But we all know that would never happen.

Our problem is that we are no longer ruled by the Constitution.  Neither party is following the Constitution.  Yet every four years, we jump out of our seats to vote for one of them.

I am not saying we don’t need to vote for good candidates, because we do.  But that is not the end all, be all.  We need to be fully aware of what our Congressman and State Legislators are doing all throughout each year.  And no matter what political party they are associated with, we need to unify and tell them no more new taxes, regulations or spending.

There are easy ways to give a few minutes of your time each month to find out what is going on with your Representatives.  One of which is by attending your local Liberty on the Rocks meet-up, of course!  We have plenty to learn and teach each other – so why not do it over drinks?!

The second is by locating a local organization that may keep track of all proposed bills and who in your state voted for them.  To find out if there is a free market think tank in your area, check out the directory on the State Policy Network’s website.  Many of the state-based think tanks are beginning to host sites which provide complete and precise legislative information for their respective state, so citizens can be easily updated and can then act if they feel it necessary.  These sites include Michigan Votes and New Mexico Votes.    There are also great organizations to get involved with that are nationwide, such as Americans for Prosperity, American’s for Tax Reform and America’s Future Foundation.

The bottom line is that it’s not about the politicians or the political parties, it’s about principles.  And neither side has had any for a while. It’s time we step up to the plate as the true defenders of our Constitution, and do something to clean up this mess.  I say we start by informing ourselves of the importance of free market capitalism, and then pass this information on to others.   Only then will we have numbers large enough to truly enact “change”.  And by change I mean freedom.

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amanda, December 7th 2009 | Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Gaining Liberty, History, Politics