There are examples galore of government’s inability to do things well and at reasonable cost, but that doesn’t deter those who continue to believe government can solve every problem.
The U.S. Postal Service wants to raise the cost of a first-class stamp from 46 cents to 49 cents in order to cover a “precarious financial condition.” That will only encourage more people to stop sending mail, all but guaranteeing another rate increase down the road.
The White House announced a $300 million aid package for Detroit, a city in which Democratic rule, high taxes, out-of-control spending and years of corruption precipitated its financial collapse. Half of the money will go toward eliminating blight. The real blight is the Democratic Party that ruled and then ruined Detroit.
The Federal Housing Authority announced Friday it is taking $1.7 billion in borrowed money from the U.S. Treasury to cover projected losses in reverse mortgage programs. It can do so without congressional authorization. Actors peddle reverse mortgages on TV all the time and we’re told they are “guaranteed” by the government. What could possibly go wrong?
The Heritage Foundation has compiled a long list of government programs that have failed to live up to their advertised goals. In addition to the Great Society monstrosities that have undermined the American family by subsidizing out-of-wedlock births and welfare dependency, some others include:
— Head Start. According to the Head Start Impact Study, in virtually every category, the program for pre-school children has failed to achieve its stated goals. The study found “that the benefits of participating in Head Start almost completely disappear by first grade.” Read about it here (http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2010/01/head-start-earns-an-f-no-lasting-impact-for-children-by-first-grade).
– Food Stamps. This is one of 80 welfare programs going to one-third of Americans that will cost an estimated $12.7 trillion over the next decade without substantial reforms.
— Social Security. This is the “untouchable” entitlement, which needs reform as much, or more, than any other federal program. Women, especially, get a raw deal with Social Security. Again, as The Heritage Foundation has noted, “Among retired workers, women received $300 less than men in Social Security benefits in 2010, collecting only $1,023 in monthly benefits on average. Women are more likely than men to lack all of the necessary 35 years of payroll tax contributions to qualify for full benefits, as many take time off from the workforce to care for children and elderly parents. And those who don’t have a full work history are even worse off. Many seniors receive benefits below the federal poverty level.”
Add to this the annual ritual of federal agencies spending millions of “leftover” dollars before the end of the fiscal year September 30 — $562,000 on “artwork” by the Department of Veterans Affairs, $178,000 by the Coast Guard on “cubicle furniture rehab,” according to The Washington Post — and you understand why so many are cynical about government’s track record of achievement and cost containment.
Now Obamacare a complete failure, they cannot even get the most basics to work, like the web site. Obama promises are all but a proven lie, millions of people loosing their health insurance, hardly anyone signing up and another 50-100 million expected to loose their coverages next year when the employer mandate kicks in, Obamacare is a complete and utter failure!
Consider the Five Iron Laws of Big Government:
1. Big Government Programs don’t work.
Big Government Programs don’t solve the problems they were created to solve. They don’t produce the results they were intended to produce. They don’t deliver the benefits they were supposed to. Do Government Welfare Programs get people back on their feet and enable them to become self-supporting individuals? Do Government subsidies of businesses make their recipients stronger and more competitive? Big Government Economic and Social Programs don’t work.
2. Big Government Programs often make things worse for the very people they’re intended to help.
Big Government decided that too many poor people in America lived in sub-standard dwellings. So it created Urban Renewal Programs — bulldozing and tearing down 4 times as many dwellings as it built. Result? Tens of thousands of families without roofs over their heads. (See The Federal Bulldozer by Martin Anderson.)
Big Government created “The Great Society” welfare system to help the needy. Results? A culture of irresponsibility and dependency. A welfare system that entices and rewards people for getting on and staying on the dole. (See Losing Ground by Charles Murray)
How many stories have you heard about Big Government Programs that backfire? How many others haven’t you heard about?
3. Big Government Programs create new problems.
The Federal Government created Medicare to help senior citizens and Medicaid to help the poor with medical care. Unintended consequences? Massive government funding for these programs drove up health care costs – for those participating and those not. It made doctors and hospitals accountable to the government — instead of patients. It breeched patient-doctor medical confidentiality. It set in motion the drive toward a Government Monopoly — “Single-Payer” — Health Care System. Toward Socialized Medicine.
Social Security? Government Central Planning of Education? Government Disaster Relief? The War on Drugs? Mandatory Minimums? All create new problems. Unintended consequences.
4. Big Government Programs are costly and wasteful.
Have you ever heard about government cost under-runs? How many times have you read about government projects that come in at 5 or 10 or 20 times the price initially agreed to? Why aren’t Big Government Programs thrifty? Because they don’t have to be. It’s not their money. Every year, the officials running these Big Government programs go back to their local or state or federal legislators for bigger budgets and more tax dollars.
5. Big Government Programs divert money and energy from positive, productive uses.
Big Government Programs are funded with hundreds of billions of tax dollars. Taken from productive workers and businesses. Every dollar drained from the private sector is a dollar that the individuals and business who earned it can’t spend, save, invest, or give to effective private organizations and programs that help those less fortunate.
Charities, churches, and service organizations strive to assist those in need – and help them become self-sufficient. Because these organizations rely on voluntary donations, they are directly accountable to their supporters. Because they operate on lean budgets, they streamline their operations, eliminate needless overhead, and seek better ways to help those unable to help themselves. They regularly produce good results – at a fraction of the expense of comparable Big Government Programs.
