Connecting the Dots on Unrelated Subjects
May 4, 2009 by Bob Livingston
Nationalized health care.
President Barack Obama fires GM CEO Richard Wagoner.
British food inspectors.
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Government bailouts.
These five seemingly unrelated subjects actually have a lot in common, and I will connect the dots.
First, Obama and Congressional Democrats are seeking to nationalize health care. What they say they want to do is make healthcare affordable for everyone. They say that the plan is to offer alternatives to the existing health insurance structure, thereby giving consumers a choice in their healthcare providers.
Have insurance through your employer you’re happy with? Fine, you can keep it. Just be prepared as a taxpayer to subsidize someone else’s healthcare.
In other words, the government is going to take your hard-earned money away from you and tell you it is to pay for someone else to see a doctor. You pay your own premiums, through withholdings from your employer or direct payment if you’re self-employed, while someone else gets healthcare through the government, thanks to your tax dollars.
In March, Obama forced out General Motors CEO Richard Wagoner. Why? Obama wasn’t satisfied with the way Wagoner was proceeding in his quest to turn General Motors’ finances around. How can the president force out the CEO of a private company?
It’s no longer private. GM took a government handout—rather, bailout—and the president became the company’s largest stakeholder. That essentially made Obama chairman of the board of GM and gave him control over the company’s direction.
In January, Great Britain announced that a group of inspectors will be hired and trained to visit British homes and offer advice to homeowners on what foods to eat and what to throw away. They’ll be handing out guidance literature on optimum portion sizes and what to do with leftovers, as well as explaining the difference between “best before,” “use by,” and “sell by” dates.
Essentially, according to an article in the Daily Mail, the British government is going to send out its agents to go through the refrigerators and pantries of British subjects and judge whether they are eating well and properly managing their food.
Meanwhile, Justice Ginsburg told a group gathering at Ohio State University that she believed U.S. judges were justified in using precedent established in foreign courts when handing down decisions on U.S. matters, according to a recent article in the New York Times.
“Why shouldn’t we look to the wisdom of a judge from abroad with at least as much ease as we would read a law review article written by a professor?” the Times quoted her as asking.
Regarding the bailouts, where does the money that went to GM, Chrysler and the financial institutions come from? If you are a working American it is taken from you (through income tax) by threat of force. It then goes into the government coffers where it is dispersed at the direction of the Treasury Secretary, who was appointed by the president.
Now to connect the dots: When healthcare is nationalized the government is going to be overseeing the type of care you receive and whether—because of age or state of health—a certain treatment is authorized.
A healthy populace is less expensive than an unhealthy one. So the government will seek to modify people’s behavior in order to ensure their health and keep healthcare costs low. That means the government will have a say over what you eat and how you live, as well as whether you even qualify for certain treaments.
Obama, in control of GM, fired the CEO. He justified it by claiming to represent the interests of taxpayers. Obama, in charge of healthcare because taxpayer dollars are used to fund it, can make you eat correctly in order to ensure your health.
To enforce government’s idea of a healthy diet, food police will regularly inspect your refrigerator and pantry to make sure you are eating properly. If food police agents deem you have too much “unapproved” food in your house, expect fines and punishment. You can’t be fired, as Wagoner was. But the government has ways to punish wrongdoers.
Don’t want to let inspectors into your house? Sorry, the government now owns you through healthcare. Want to appeal the punishment for unauthorized food? You won’t get very far. Once a judge in Great Britain rules it’s okay for them, no American law will help you. So says Justice Ginsburg.
You can opt-out at any time. We protect your information like a mother hen. We will not sell or rent your email address to anyone for any reason.
