The Price of "Progress"

[pimpingmrli]

The chart at 1:48 really says alot about your beloved Ronald Reagan (and 2 other "conservative presidents"). Bill Clinton was a piece of shit...I wouldn't even call him much of a real Democrat, much less a Liberal (he had already drank the Reagan kool-aid). I absolutely agree with you that we shouldn't be policing the world..that is what cost the most money. That and those ridiculous bailouts you think real Progressives were for. Those were bailouts by and for the powerful establishment.

[SUpersaiyajinjerkbag]

Obama is just discussing healthcare and liberal policy. There won't be much implementation until his second term

[megagagnon1]

google clinton surplus myth - you'll see clinton increased the federal deficit every single month he was in office - the "surplus" was an accounting trick - he spent surplus social security payments to pay for his programs

[OperationTailGunner]

Regardless of what anyone thinks about Bill Clinton...he left us in a pretty good place financially.

Bush-Cheney plundered our national resources lusting after the oil fields and eliminating one of Israels biggest threats. Payback for his financial backers.

In the end, the Defense contractors who were all part of the Bush-Cheney pact are still in business taking us all to the cleaners.

I do not understand why Obama does not call for a review of all defense contracts.

KBR Halliburton etc..

[OperationTailGunner]

The primary problem with Washington is that most of them are on the payroll of lobbyists or influence peddlers via campaign contributions from influential donors.

This is a compromise of Integrity and a conflict of interest which has been allowed to year after year.

They key to fixing Washington is campaign finance reform is prosecution of those who award thier donors with government perks and contracts!!!

No club Fed! (Madoff etc.) House them with Bubba in the maximum security prisons!!!

[SUpersaiyajinjerkbag]

My favorite policy of FDR was Fannie Mae (primary mortgage system so more people could afford homes; privatized by Nixon unfortunately).

Because of Fannie Mae, more people could move to the south and bitch about what an overrated president FDR was.

[OperationTailGunner]

The BEST thing you can do if you are going in for a major medical procedure, is establish contact with a lawyer and/or health care advocate BEFORE you begin any treatment or tests.

The only thing that keeps an Insurance company flying straight is the threat of taking it to court and having to hire a lawyer to defend their case (which cuts deeply into thier profits)

BTW - I learned this tip from a 20 year health insurance insider

[twixcookie]

It is your right as a citizen of this nation to question your government. Always remember that.

[OperationTailGunner]

Agreed, but merely expressing your opinion, complaint, suggestions or even your vote will not change Washington.

In Washington, its the "Game" that rules the roost.

Influence peddlers, lobbyist and campaign contributions by influential contributors squelches our voice.

The concept of "representative government" started out as a swell idea....which is now obsolete as well as ineffective.

Senators and representative need to spend an equal amount of time at home as in Washington.

[twixcookie]

Yes, It is too entrenched. All of those big bloated govt bureaucracies have become a form of welfare for many, being paid well to do a minimal job, some don't even show up to work, and get benefits and pensions. Welfare jobs.

Our taxes support them.

Many are as arrogant as those at the top.

I am not talking about the police, fire, military.

[OperationTailGunner]

Marksism started out as a new social "theory" on how to run a fair and equal society...but they underestimated human nature and greed... not to mention the capitalist who feared it would succeed. Well no plan of man survives first contact with the enemy!

Except for China, etc...

We have a democractic government and a capitalist economy. Funny how many people confuse the two concepts as one and the same thing.

Its a continuing balancing act.

when balance is lost, revolution begins!

[plurgid]

because the price of healthcare is putting employers out of business. That's why the government has to do something.

You can't have it both ways. If the "free market" is allowed to continue it's path on healthcare, we'll have no economy left to support it.

Also nobody will be able to afford healthcare.

It costs a lot yes, but not nearly as much as doing nothing.

[printo69]

what free market health care are you talking about? Nearly half of our health care dollars come from the federal government. What resembles a free market is employer-based health care which arose from wage controls in WWII and was help set in stone with the HMO Act of 73. Before the establishment of Medicaid & Medicare, 4% of GDP was our HC expenditure, now its 16% of GDP. You can find those numbers at the Center for Medicaid Services (CMS). There is no free market in health care by any means

[OperationTailGunner]

Our current situation in America is almost hopeless. It doesnt really matter what person you elect and send to Washington, because once they get there...they will introduced to "the game" and business as usual. Those who are not perceived as a "team player" will be threatened and blackballed out of office.

And we need to re-define what "socialism" means in our current democracy. "Socialism" is any political initiative, law or measure designed to reform Capitalism and/or any of its bad actors.

[4GooMan]

A definition in flux is not a definition. It has as much value as situational ethics Socialism is the government control of the production of goods and services Our Constitution provides for the regulation of commerce. Properly done, such regulation can keep any excesses of capitalism at bay. If the socialistic model is used, who regulates the government? The system of checks and balances promulgated by our founders is profound. Socialism would have a top heavy system with no checks and balances

[sarjil]

u know what amazes me, how the hell is obama knowledge on the many topics that he is legaslating?, i mean say someone like marc faber (whose comment i am paraphrasing) who basically specializes in market trading and economics, yet he doesn't know everything bout the market. Yet we have half black superman wrapped in jesus who knows about everything so he can instruct us about everything to make our own lives better, which we cant do ourselves since we have no arms or legs or independent thought

[OgallalaKnowhow]

IMO the idea of 'progressive' state intervention, which is really an apologetic socialism, misses the point, whilst centralizing the power of both the state and monopoly capital. Its close to what Marxists might call state-capitalism.

A truly conservative resurgence needs to get past these distinctions, and reformulate a civic-market.

[hasatum]

If you're arguing for decentralization and a bottom-up architecture, then I imagine you will find that a lot of conservatives (as opposed to neo-conservatives) are on board with you. If, on the other hand, you're merely arguing for a federalist architecture with power primarily expressed through local government, then you're on your way back to Feudalism and the Dark Ages.

[OgallalaKnowhow]

At first I was skeptical of this distinction you made, I would imagine that you are a proponent of state's rights versus the federal government, yet this is within a federalist architecture. Likewise w/ provincial-federal diplomacy in Canada.

But this use of the term 'community' by the government has been on my mind and I have to agree with you. Any effort at planned communitarianism on the part of the state is a contradiction. Are you familiar with Jane Jacob's Dark Age Ahead?

[hasatum]

I'm in favor of state's rights only because I see no practical alternative except Washington.

Given a choice, I'd prefer that people were able to organize as they wish. When regular people are given the choice, there's usually more selling of freedom for services in urban areas and less in rural areas. As long as people are able to institute change by voting with their feet, I've got no problem.

I'm not familiar with Dark Age Ahead, but I'll definitely look out for it.

[OgallalaKnowhow]

As a foreign, albeit deeply interconnected, observer, I think its important for proponents of a Ron Paul brand 'Old Right' conservatism to take seriously critiques of laissez faire economics as it currently stands.

The market should not be seen as synonymous with civil society, and this inevitably complicates any liberty / statist dichotomy. Free markets as they exist under contemporary neo-liberalism corrodes that which conservatives value most: traditional culture, family life, and community.

[hasatum]

It may be true that markets AS THEY EXIST are damaging to society, but I think you misunderstand the real thrust of what Ron Paul supporter are after. They're after a society that is voluntary, one where coercion is minimized and strictly limited to preventing coercion. Markets may not be synonymous with civil society, but neither is democracy. Unlike democracy, however, markets are, at least in theory, strictly subject to a rule of law that protects minorities from the majority.

[OgallalaKnowhow]

Coercion is a difficult concept, are you referring to arbitrary taxation (again, difficult to define), or indoctrination (Obama's school speech seems relevant to you)? etc. A capitalist, a marxist, and a traditionalist would all define the term in different ways.

For example, take a property owner who is told by the government that he is not allowed to cut down forest on his land because it is the habitat of an endangered species - is it good for this to be an entirely private decision?

[hasatum]

Good or bad has no bearing on the definition of coercion. Coercion may be justified and still be coercion. A tax, for example, may be justified but it is still coercive since failing to pay that tax will ultimately lead to police coming to get you. If you fail to comply with their demands, you will be forced to comply either through violence or the threat of violence.

[OgallalaKnowhow]

Environmental governance in general is an excellent example of where free markets are difficult to justify - as there is no condition preventing a property holder to buy the rights to pollute, and there are no readily available indicators to put a price signal on environmental externalities.

For example, say you put a price signal on water and then allowed the market to regulate itself. What is preventing the monopolization of the resource to the detriment of other users and the environment?

[hasatum]

Everyone is free to pollute their own land as much as they wish to do so. As soon as that pollution starts spreading to other people's land, however, they are violating property rights. Polluting the oceans or the air violates everyone's property rights, so unless you're somehow able to pay off every property owner in the world, it's going to be a violation. The ability to pollute flagrantly without penalty is thus the fault of non-enforcement (governments) not markets.

[OgallalaKnowhow]

This is a valid argument, and I agree with your final sentence, but I think it misses some important points.

a) There is nothing internal to market relations that determines what constitutes pollution, or even a violation of property rights; it is up to society to determine that certain substances should be thought of this way, and this obviously changes in scientific and cultural context (witness asbestos).

b) Its impossible to separate non-enforcement from the influence of market forces.

[OgallalaKnowhow]

I should expand on my point about property, because I agree that the principle issue is the lack of property rights - However, I also believe that different situations require different types of property: there is private and public property, but you can also speak of common property that is an arranged and enforced internally by a group of users.

In most situations, polluters prefer a status quo where there is no property signal to a violating substance, or no institutionalization.

[OgallalaKnowhow]

I also think a conflation with property and land is insufficient, as this clearly leaves about a majority of the population. Better to think of the individual's body as the first article of private property.

[twixcookie]

The right to private ownership of property is part of capitalism.

[APSOC38]

To say that we're broke is an extreme understatement...

[PsychoPunk1965]

As a leftist,I like the fact that you equally talk about what is wrong with people across the spectrum. Socialism?Great Britain became socialist in 1945 when they elected the British Labour Party government of Prime Minister Clement Attlee.Israel became socialist in 1948 when decades of Jewish Socialist Zionists worked on creating a homeland for their people.Portugal became socialist in 1974 when leftists in the military led a peaceful coup to end 42 years of dictatorship. We're NOT socialist.

[saxrider]

@PsychoPunk1965 ....we're neither socialists or capitalists. we're a screwed up mixture of many things. and we're broke, and severely in debt.

[sarjil]

i'll second that it's a dichotomy on different levels we are different things. government is fascist, there's corporate welfare on wallstret, the average guy wants socialism for himself. right now we really have mass chaos/indecision/fear/ on ground level underneath the surface. but once that reaches the leadership and it's bubbling everywhere and on media, then the country will decisively turn into some extreme idealogical direction. Hopefully by then i'd be in brazil in million dollar mansion

[twixcookie]

Though not admittedly Socialist, we are. Bailouts are Socialist. Tons of government jobs that provide a form of welfare for minorities with pensions are Socialist. Medicaid and Medicare are Socialist. See, you're so used to having the government's hands in everything, you think this is normal.

[OperationTailGunner]

It wasnt really a "bailout", it was more like a ransom or extortion.

Give us the money or will we will layoff the entire U.S. workforce....

[Patriot4Liberty1776]

Ron Paul IS Right!!

"I am convinced that there are more threats to American liberty within the 10 mile radius of my office on Capitol Hill than there are on the rest of the globe."

~ RP

[twixcookie]

I agree. DC is like a real whorehouse, if you think of it.

[OperationTailGunner]

You got that right! Ive been there a few times in my former job.

Its like a Carnival, a Circus, a Whorehouse, a learning lab for those aspiring for a career in organized crime, and interns who want to grow up to be spies for Industry or a foreign country.

But I do love the museums however...they are Free to the public.

The last thing on their minds is what you and I sent them up there to accomplish!!!

[twixcookie]

A whore has better morals though, because they take money for a service, no hypocrisy. A politician is worse, because they pretend to be public servants, and pretend to be representing us, protecting our liberties, when they take money to do the opposite.

One example is Monsanto who has so many politicians in its back pocket. It's employees go from the USDA to Monsanto and back. Whores.

Imagine being one of these people, on their deathbed someday, knowing what their legacy to the world was.

[OperationTailGunner]

Here is one for you...Melvin F. Sembler, former head of the Republican National Party Finance committee, raised millions for G.W. Bush.

During the "2000 RECOUNT", Sembler established a special Florida recount legal fund.

After they won the election...Bush tried to appoint Sembler to the U.S. Import-export bank.

Sembler declined because of a conflict of interest...s

So instead, Bush appointed Sembler as ambassador to Italy (he doesnt even speak Italian)

[OperationTailGunner]

Sembler Continued

During Semblers tour as Ambassador, he got Bush to sign-off on completely rebuilding the U.S. Embassy in Italy and then had the U.S. government commission it in his name! All at tax payer expense!

The ribbon cutting ceremony was accompanied by Florida congressman Bill Young, another lifetime recipient of Semblers money.

Sembler has raised money over the years for THE ENTIRE BUSH FAMILY, going back to H.W. Bush, Jeb Bush and G.W. Bush

All of which has paid off well for him!

[twixcookie]

Yeah, with our tax money. Money I could use to pay off my bills. Money I could use because I don't want to be a welfare recipient but a productive professional in society.

A lot of government jobs, and I don't mean police, military, etc., are just a form of welfare. They get jobs in bureaus and govt agencies and get well-paid, benefits, and pensions. "Get a government job, and they will take care of you!" We have all heard that one.

[OperationTailGunner]

In the DoD, the congress has pretty much weaned the government off of dependence on civil servants..those that used to fit the government job profile you speak of.

The bad news is that they have been replaced them with contractors who make two to three times as much money as people in the military.

A recent news article that stated that there are more contractors in Afghanistan than military personnel...Cheneys legacy

And with very little or non-existant oversight like KBR Halliburton...

[twixcookie]

I am not talking about the military contracts, and I agree with you on that issue. Im talking about the Fed, State, and Local govt jobs that are welfare for minorities who milk them. Good pay, benefits better than you or I will ever see, pensions, not 401Ks, because we all KNOW that pensions are better than 401Ks...

[twixcookie]

These places are overstaffed, and as one state worker, who is now retired told me, about one state back east..."If they let go half of the people working for the state government, it would still be overstaffed." He also said people would hire their friends, and you'd never see them come in, always a closed door, and they were making big bucks. Ghost employees draining the system. You can't fire them.

Heard the mantra over the years, "Get a govt job, they will take care of you."

[Patriot4Liberty1776]

I prefer the word REGRESSIVE when speaking on the self labeled progressives as they want more government control in our individuals lives. A 100% regressive notion to live under the complete rule of others. You are either for MORE government or LESS in our individual lives, not what side of the phony left right paradigm you are on.I hope all of you are for Limited Constitutional government and see your self as a solution rather then looking to the government to offer another bad solution for us.

[valaraj]

great video

[granulorhoek]

It's endlessly bemusing how Republicans (although Conservative is now more fashionable) are against Big Government(TM), government spending, and infringement of personal freedoms except when there's a Republican in the White House. Then, then everything is right with the world and while we're at it let's run up a huge deficit. Then a Democrat gets voted in to clean it up and be a scapegoat. It's a brilliant scheme, really.

[smedge7]

Conservative is not a term that is interchangeable with Republican. All Republicans are not conservatives. conservatives did not agree with Bush on many issues. Bush called himself a "Compassionate Conservative" a term not popular with Conservatives. It really means "I'm going to wave an American flag, protect the unborn and support the military, then spend like a Democrat".

[smedge7]

Also keep in mind that regardless of how much republicans spent under Bush, Obama has quadrupled it.

[thelaughingman]

amen.

Also people seem not to know that we have never had anything remotely like capitalism in this country ever. If we did we would have followed our comparative advantage which a the time would have been fish and furs. if ron paul was actually allowed to enact his economic ideas the country would collapse in a matter of days.

[steve0281]

Excellent Jack. We have been moving down this road for far too long and the pace has be accelerating recently to a breakneck pace. Kind of like falling off a cliff; at first things aren't so bad but now the ground seems to be rushing toward us.

[bannyrooster4]

Nice Jack!!! Keep the good work. You are quickly becoming my favorite commentator and I'm spreading your videos everywhere....

[cyberpsygen7]

i want the government to take total control over everything because they know whats best for us and they love us.

everyone knows politicians never lie and never get bought out by special interest lobbying.

the only thing that can save the free market is even more barriers to entry and sending all our jobs over seas.

[tynews2001]

You. Are. Such. A. Bad. Ass.

[tattypatty]

You always make great points,SA, even when I don't totally agree. But please stop using Glenn Beck to make a point. He is a clown...

[mrd999]

your 09 federal deficit graphic only depicts a $1 trillion deficit. i think the estimate now is around $1.7 trillion..

[tcmccracken]

Someone please tell me why I should let government run healthcare when they can't even run social securtiy!

[TIAAVENDEALANTIN]

SS? all ya have to do is look at Gov. Housing and know that ya don't want the Gov putting their fingers in your life lol.

[Ovalshine]

Since when has the government ever...

Oh, you said LIFE.

[TajiTJ]

Amen. They cant even take money, hold it, then pay it out in a fashion that will not completely bankrupt the country. Everyone does realize if you are under 30 you will not get it, and if you are over 50 you will get a fraction of what you think you will get.

[QuantumBios]

Cash for clunkers just failed miserably...and they want to run healthcare?

[bittergunowner12]

@QuantumBios We already have govt run healthcare in Medicaid, Medicare and the VA, look how well thats turned out.

[bittergunowner12]

Great vid SA, this is great.

[jsh78mang]

Bravo, great video, much needed. I've been trying to tell people this. I think I'll send them here instead you seem a better reporter of the message then I.

[whoo689]

We could at least save a lot of money towards this 'public option', if it is in fact inevitable, by GETTING OUT OF IRAQ ALREADY! Obama, come on. Fuck this "16 months" bullshit. Bring our troops home now! Ron Paul promised to bring troops home immediately, and Mike Gravel said he'd do it in just 120 days. But you think we need 16 months? What an idiot. I feel kinda sorry for all those big Obama supporters who actually thought the era of "hope and change" would be heaven on earth.

[whoo689]

I mean, can you IMAGINE Red China, with over 1.5 billion people, trying to have socialized medicine?

[philippe1985]

it depends if you call a syringe with aids "healthcare" then yes they do!

[whoo689]

I'm tired of single-payer advocates arguing over cost and how we can "significantly cut cost" by going to a Medicare-for-all system, as if Medicare bureaucrats have found some silver bullet for cutting costs that NO ONE ELSE could possibly find on their own. But their cost-cutting is actually quite simple to understand. Of course, saying Medicare "cuts costs effectively" these days is pointless since it's gonna be bankrupt, along with SS, in the next few decades.

[whoo689]

No nation with gov't-run healthcare has a population nearly as large as our own. Even Japan, which has some form of universal healthcare, has about 120 or 130 mil. That's pretty much the max that you can cover. Trying to cover 300 million people in the SAME healthcare plan is like trying to find a needle in a haystack. The public option, sooner or later, will become socialized medicine once it's done with uncompetitive practices resulting in the elimination of practically all insurance.

[twixcookie]

Yes, it is always easier to do something very well on a small scale. Japan doesn't have 30 million illegals and more pouring into it either.

[whoo689]

Good job mentioning the population with regards to national healthcare! That's ONE THING the liberals forgot: you can't POSSIBLY effectively cover 300 million people under ANY welfare policy! The reason we're not bankrupt yet is because the general welfare state only serves 1/3rd or less of that number. Germany has some form of UHC, although not as socialist as Canada, France or Britain, but their population is only about 100 mil. France's is somewhere close to that. Britain's only 50 mil.

[whoo689]

Are liberals REALLY so naive as to think the public option bureaucrats in Washington will just sit by and let it "compete" with private insurers? Give me a break! That's the kind of crap they said about Medicare! But that program has cost way more than LBJ could've ever imagined, and they don't even reimburse practitioners at a fair rate. They only cost cut because they're cheapskates. "But the liberals said Medicare would pay at the same rate as private insurance." What morons

[twixcookie]

Yep. Employers will not offer private insurance, so there goes his "you can keep your private insurance" and "you'll still have an optioon."

It costs employers quite a bit to offer insurance, and if they can have you get the Obamacare, and pay with your own taxes, they will do it.

[OperationTailGunner]

I have to disagree with you slightly on this one...most big corporations offer Health insurance. The main issue is wheather or not those health insurance companies will actually honor their contract in your time of need. I experienced this personally with my sons "fortune 500" company health insurance provider. They did everything humanly possible to NOT PAY ANYTHING on his health care claims. Thats when I became his advocate and started calling them up myself.

Its almost like a war zone !!!

[twixcookie]

It costs companies money to offer you insurance. They pay part of the premium, which is why they prefer to hire nonsmokers, etc.

They will simply not offer it, to save money.

[twixcookie]

It is a myth that companies who hire you full time have to offer health insurance or benefits. That is strictly up to the employer's discretion.

I do agree about the war zone. They do not want to pay. Insurance is the only business where you buy coverage for something, and if you need it, they can deny you, despite all of the money you have been paying them.

I can't think of any other business than can get away with doing that.

[MagnusIan]

Right on the money, SA. All this bullshit about how government-run healthcare would save us money is downright moronic. A government that continues to spend itself into oblivion and cause more problems than it tries to solve will lead to certain disaster.

[MRSketch09]

*Sighs* Don't you ever have any good news SA?

Anyways, being serious, my liberal manager was asking me about healthcare. And I told him, we can't afford it, its a pipe dream. And I say that because medicare, medicaid and anything else with an "aid" at the end of it is running out of money.

I work in retail and I have seen prices creeping up. I dread a few years from now. *Sighs heavily*

[conspiracy777]

I'm a little troubled by some of the talk I hear. Some folks are saying, "if we pulled our troops out of (where ever), or if we didn't send aid to (whomever), we would have enough money to fund health care. That's not the point. If we eliminated those expenses we could return the money to the tax payers and we could afford our own health care AND be able to give to those who need it. Americans aren't the selfish bastards that the libs would have you believe.

[conspiracy777]

Having some bureaucrat take money from me at the point of a gun, so that they can feed some big program and trickle money to my neighbor in need is MUCH less efficient than me just walking across the street and lending him a hand.

The more they take from us the more the instill the attitude of "wanting our fair share".

Otherwise known as the "pigs at the trough", mentality.

[philippe1985]

Exactly! and not only europe cannot afford its healthcare, we do not have full so called "free health care" and our military budget is ridicoulus (especially in Belgium). But don't forget to mention that income taxes are more than 50% and sales taxes over 20%, I'm not even mentioning all the other taxes and the ECB.

[BalanceFairTruth]

great work SA!

[myheartskry]

Great commentary SA!

[utubehayter]

Hehe! SA, now you are inching close to libertarianism

[anyusmoon1]

What's extraordinary is that Owebama is a constitutional lawyer! Just goes to show you how much THAT B.A.R. card is worth! Pft!

[jamminjago]

no dig up stupid!

[bootme21]

The money extorted from us by government could be used for health care for all, if we didn't spend so much killing babies in far away lands.

[herbs814]

the government shouldn't be killing babies in America either.

[kmg501]

We're going to collapse within a year unless a massive course change is made within months. We are down to the wire now.

[libertyfizz]

I hope more people will realize that neither the Democrats or the Republicans have the political will to do what is needed to put this country back on the right track.

[Silvsilvchan]

... did Obama just honestly compare himself to Lyndon Banes Johnson? I can't imagine a more stupid move for a war time president.

[herbs814]

"did Obama just honestly compare himself to Lyndon Johnson? I can't imagine a more stupid move for a war-time president." ... or for a president that is spending like a drunken fool when our country is going broke.

[Johnybama]

Southern Avenger strikes again!