Poverty of Reason

Barack Obama is offering nothing novel with his proposals on public works, health care, or education. FDR thought the government could invigorate employment and poured massive amounts into the Civilian Conservation Corps, the Works Progress Administration, the creation of the Tennessee Valley Authority, and other New Deal programs that most economists now believe extended the depression. FDR (and Herbert Hoover before him) raised taxes and erected barriers to free trade just as Obama is doing. Taxes and tariffs will not renew prosperity but delay if not preclude recovery all together. Universal care schemes exist throughout the developed world. They lead to delayed care, care rationing, and the denial of vital but expensive procedures or medications that extend life but do not stand up to cost/benefit analysis by government bureaucrats. Money is being poured into public k-12 education with public school teachers consistently making more than their parochial or private school counterparts. Bringing discipline and accountability back to elementary and secondary public education could work and wouldn't cost a penny. This President really has little interest in growing minds though, if it conflicts with his ambition of growing unions. Educators' unions will thrive under Obama, students will suffer. Autoworkers from the American labels may well end up owning the car companies with the government in a public-private partnership. These employee owner with government's socialist intrusion situations may extend to other businesses as well. Obama is re-instituting the LBJ welfare state, but with his higher income tax proposal for high earners, it should be renamed "the war on prosperity" instead of "the war on poverty". Obama is determined to force Americans to rely on government-he is even reducing the deduction for charitable giving at a time when Americans need charity more than ever. Obama's mean-spirited action here is meant to induce an even greater dependency on government. While none of Obama's ideas are revolutionary, the speed with which he is initiating them is shocking. It is reminiscent of the meth-addict who is convinced he has less chance of being stopped by the police if he stands on the accelerator driving through rush hour traffic. The end of this story is always grim.