Posted by
Katherine Harms on Friday, August 29, 2008 10:47:30 AM
A singular message has arisen from the families wringing their hands and weeping around kitchen tables across America. The message is this: The government owes its citizens a problem-free life, and Bush prevented it from doing that. I watched the parade of complaints, and I watched Barack Obama intently. Barack Obama’s acceptance speech is truly terrifying.
At the turn of the century, a lot of people in the Russian Empire believed Marx and Lenin when they said that if the working people of the world revolted against capitalism, the dictatorship of the proletariat (the working people) would be heaven on earth. They rose up en masse, toppled the empire, assassinated the royal family, and became dictators. Not long ago, the attempt by Russian Communists to promise every family a trouble-free life collapsed. It was not possible for everyone to receive healthcare, education, and good jobs when there was no engine of prosperity. Government produces nothing, and must tax those who are productive and profitable in order to have any money at all. Remove productivity and profit, and the whole system falls apart.
Barack Obama promised that under his administration, healthcare would be guaranteed for all. In the former Soviet Union, there were hospitals, built and financed by the government, and healthcare professionals who were dependent on the government for their wages. When the government had no money to pay for either infrastructure or wages, healthcare became a hit and miss proposition. The government could not afford to provide dialysis for all, so the most politically powerful got healthcare and everyone else took what was left.
Barack Obama promised that the government would assure a good education for every child. In the former Soviet Union, everyone was guaranteed an education, but the government used standardized tests at various points to determine the right education track for each citizen. The government did not operate by enabling citizens to achieve the careers they dreamed of. Rather, the government determined what it needed and who would provide that. A little girl might dream of being a ballerina, but if the government thought she would be more useful as a hotel maid, that was her destiny.
Barack Obama promised to create jobs and hang on to them. In the former Soviet Union, everyone was guaranteed a job. What a deal. No unemployment. Why, even old women could have jobs sweeping streets and picking up trash. What everyone was not guaranteed was a wage. Furthermore, nobody guaranteed that the money received as wages was worth anything. When the government had money, the wage was paid. When it had no money, the wage was not paid. Everyone was employed, but many had no income.
Is this what we want in the USA? Do we really want the government to guarantee healthcare, education and jobs? If the government takes over all those roles, how will the government get enough money to provide the promised education, pay the people in those guaranteed jobs, to build the guaranteed hospitals? Do we really want to start standing in line for toilet paper from the government-authorized shipment?
I listened to Barack Obama’s acceptance speech, and as I heard each promise, this is the image that came to mind. Barack Obama scares me, because I don’t think that even he realizes what he is leading us to. He really believes that he is called to save our country by making these impressive promises. He actually thinks he can craft programs that will deliver on the promises. I guarantee you that he cannot do it. Just look at the Soviet Union. That country was a complete laboratory for socialism. If you want to understand how a country works when government guarantees the citizens healthcare, education, and jobs then just look at the former Soviet Union.
The real lesson there is that the Soviet Union collapsed in seventy years. I would hate for the USA to spend seventy years experimenting with a concept that has already been proved to be doomed to fail. Be warned. Barack Obama cannot and will not deliver on his promises. All he can possibly do is bankrupt the country in a vain attempt to deliver. We dare not let Barack Obama win this election if we want a free and prosperous nation.
Do not ignore what the Democrat presidential candidate says. Pay close attention to Barack Obama -- the way you would pay close attention to a rattlesnake in the middle of your kitchen table.