By Star Parker
Lets do a quick thought experiment.
The price of apples keeps going up. The government decides that every American must buy apples. But some cant afford them.
Government starts controlling how much apple farmers are paid it mandates that every single American buys apples and subsidizes those under a certain income level so they can.
Will the price of apples go down stay the same or go up? Or in economists language if you limit the supply of a commodity and increase demand will the price of that commodity go up or down?
Did you say up? You get an A. But if you did say up you surely are not a Democrat.
Democrats have just committed multitrillions of our money and as a bonus sold a big chunk of American freedom down the road betting that everything a college freshman learns in basic economics is not true. Or that health care doesnt follow the rules of economics. Because our new health-care system is pretty much the apple scenario described above.
Or maybe they dont care? Maybe its not about economics but about ideology and political power. And that the real issue is freedom. They think weve got too much and that politicians should decide what is fair and who should have what.
A revealing moment during the presidential campaign occurred when during one debate ABCs Charles Gibson pushed then-Sen. Barack Obama about his stated intent to increase capital gains taxes. Gibson brandished data showing that when you cut this tax government tax revenues increase and when you raise it revenue drops (punishing investment surely produces less).
So why raise it? Gibson asked. Obama responded that maybe it wont happen that way this time. And besides he said his motive was fairness.
After voters in Massachusetts elected a Republican to replace the late Sen. Ted Kennedy killing the Democrats filibuster-proof Senate majority many pundits wrote that President Obama had to move to the political center.
I wrote then that this wouldnt happen because unlike President Bill Clinton who did moderate Obama is a left-wing ideologue. He didnt run for president to be somebody. He did it to do something. He did it to change America.
As polls showed waning public support for what Democrats were pushing on health care many assumed they would back off. It was still conceivable that they could stand rules on their head and ram the thing through using the so-called reconciliation procedure. But why would they do it when polls suggested they would be punished in November elections?
But Obama understood that when you are selling dreams numbers dont matter.
So as in the housing and financial debacle we just went through you commit taxpayer money to subsidize a product to make it look cheaper than it is you get people to buy it and when it all comes crashing down it doesnt matter. By then youre long gone.
And another bonus as more Americans get herded onto the government plantation -- 30 million more with this new bill -- its easy to keep them there. So the most likely political outcome going forward is higher taxes and income redistribution to pay for it all entrenching socialism more.
As I have written before if you want to know where it all leads look at our inner cities that were long ago taken over by government compassion. This is our future my fellow Americans.
Oh back to the apples. Their prices were rocketing up to begin with because government was already controlling and regulating them.
Republicans are mad. But will they be able to entice Americans off the ever-growing government plantation? Will they propose and succeed in selling the bold ideas necessary to turn the basket case were becoming around?
Well see.
Star Parker is the founder and president of CURE the Coalition for Urban Renewal & Education a 501c3 think tank which explores and promotes market based public policy to fight poverty as well as author of White Ghetto: How Middle Class America Reflects Inner City Decay.
By Star Parker
Lets do a quick thought experiment.
The price of apples keeps going up. The government decides that every American must buy apples. But some cant afford them.
Government starts controlling how much apple farmers are paid it mandates that every single American buys apples and subsidizes those under a certain income level so they can.
Will the price of apples go down stay the same or go up? Or in economists language if you limit the supply of a commodity and increase demand will the price of that commodity go up or down?
Did you say up? You get an A. But if you did say up you surely are not a Democrat.
Democrats have just committed multitrillions of our money and as a bonus sold a big chunk of American freedom down the road betting that everything a college freshman learns in basic economics is not true. Or that health care doesnt follow the rules of economics. Because our new health-care system is pretty much the apple scenario described above.
Or maybe they dont care? Maybe its not about economics but about ideology and political power. And that the real issue is freedom. They think weve got too much and that politicians should decide what is fair and who should have what.
A revealing moment during the presidential campaign occurred when during one debate ABCs Charles Gibson pushed then-Sen. Barack Obama about his stated intent to increase capital gains taxes. Gibson brandished data showing that when you cut this tax government tax revenues increase and when you raise it revenue drops (punishing investment surely produces less).
So why raise it? Gibson asked. Obama responded that maybe it wont happen that way this time. And besides he said his motive was fairness.
After voters in Massachusetts elected a Republican to replace the late Sen. Ted Kennedy killing the Democrats filibuster-proof Senate majority many pundits wrote that President Obama had to move to the political center.
I wrote then that this wouldnt happen because unlike President Bill Clinton who did moderate Obama is a left-wing ideologue. He didnt run for president to be somebody. He did it to do something. He did it to change America.
As polls showed waning public support for what Democrats were pushing on health care many assumed they would back off. It was still conceivable that they could stand rules on their head and ram the thing through using the so-called reconciliation procedure. But why would they do it when polls suggested they would be punished in November elections?
But Obama understood that when you are selling dreams numbers dont matter.
So as in the housing and financial debacle we just went through you commit taxpayer money to subsidize a product to make it look cheaper than it is you get people to buy it and when it all comes crashing down it doesnt matter. By then youre long gone.
And another bonus as more Americans get herded onto the government plantation -- 30 million more with this new bill -- its easy to keep them there. So the most likely political outcome going forward is higher taxes and income redistribution to pay for it all entrenching socialism more.
As I have written before if you want to know where it all leads look at our inner cities that were long ago taken over by government compassion. This is our future my fellow Americans.
Oh back to the apples. Their prices were rocketing up to begin with because government was already controlling and regulating them.
Republicans are mad. But will they be able to entice Americans off the ever-growing government plantation? Will they propose and succeed in selling the bold ideas necessary to turn the basket case were becoming around?
Well see.
Star Parker is the founder and president of CURE the Coalition for Urban Renewal & Education a 501c3 think tank which explores and promotes market based public policy to fight poverty as well as author of White Ghetto: How Middle Class America Reflects Inner City Decay.
