Obamacare and FDR’s New Deal. A new Addiction?

by: bruce nix | published: 03 22, 2010

The dangers of drug abuse come in many forms. Overdose is foremost the worst thing that can happen with the use of any narcotic and is an inherent risk if you choose to subject yourself to mind or mood altering substances. There are many other risks involved such as the tendency to resort to crime to support your habit. Many crimes are for one reason or another closely associated with drug abuse for it seems that once you embark down that dark path, job loss becomes one of the first victims of the drug that you are abusing. Then you slowly pull away from all social life so as to keep others out of your euphoric world that you now occupy.

A disturbing aspect of the drug culture is how friendly the dealer becomes with you in an attempt to gain a new customer. Many times he will give you a free ride in order to introduce you to your new addiction. Then when you feel as though you are still in control of everything, he will pull the rug out from under your feet and now you are at his mercy. The cost keeps rising and is soon unattainable with your current income, but you like it so much that you are willing to do what may have been unthinkable in previous days. Then you are trapped in this unrelenting cycle of abuse that ultimately brings you to the point of ruin.

Ironically, government entitlements work in much the same manner as do drug dealers. They all seem to be euphoric at first glance. They may take a burden off of you that was making life difficult and relieve some of the pressure generated by economic problems at first, but they have a tendency to keep you from advancing or achieving due to the very simple fact that the checks keep coming and you may reach an inescapable conclusion that working isn’t as easy as drawing an entitlement. Problem solved. Or is it?

Inescapably the dark truth eventually shows itself; cost. Large scale entitlement programs are doomed from the start due almost entirely to the cost involved. Europe is a prime example. Denmark and Sweden’s current income tax rate is around 48% to 49%. This is not sustainable.

Although the merits of an all encompassing health care system is desirable for the good of the population, it is not practical due to the economics involved. This country’s health care system is indeed due for an over haul as there are many aspects of it that are in need of reform, but it is in fact the best in the world, with cutting edge technology that has presented itself, by the competition based economy that we have. It is however expensive.

Now the Obama Administration is offering us a New Deal on the heals of this recession that we currently face. FDR had a similar plan. Experts in economics disagree whether or not his New Deal shortened or lengthened the Great Depression. History hasn’t told us yet, but many agree that the onset of World War II is the reason that our beleaguered nation rose from despair. It reignited manufacturing in this country on a large scale and put us back to work.

Is the Obama Administration’s acquisition of the banking and manufacturing companies of our country and the tease of health care reform part of a New Deal? Is it based on FDR’s New Deal? Job loss reached 25% in the thirties and the Great Depression was headed for a double dip. Had World War II not come along when it did, we would have surely stayed in a depression for some time to come.

A lot of FDR’s New Deal entitlements are very similar to the Obama administrations agenda, starting with excessive spending as a way to bring us out of debt and his penchant for demonizing the banks. FDR simply closed the banks until his plan was put into action. Then taking us off of the gold standard and making it illegal to use it as a currency and setting the value of the dollar. This was a calculated risk. Did it work? The current practice of printing money when none is available to pay for entitlements is a result of this change which also creates inflation and devalues the dollar and has managed to saddle us with over $12.5 trillion dollars in debt which is dangling over our heads like the Sword of Damocles. One day that bill will come due for payment. One truly wonders at the wisdom of our leaders.

This health care reform bill or Obamacare, that is currently in the House of Representatives for final vote is but one more entitlement for the people of this country. It is unconstitutional and unsustainable in its scope. The Obama administration is willing to gamble as FDR did with his New Deal, that this will cure the ails of this nation. Like the drug dealer supplying free drugs to attract a new customer, the outcome is predictable and many are indeed euphoric at the possibility of free health care. If it passes, the public will eventually embrace Obamacare and then find that they cannot live without it. Thus the addiction begins and he is fully aware of this effect. Ultimately the cost will go spiraling out of control, with ruin facing us just around the corner.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welfare_state

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Deal

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