Blog Archives
Big Government’s New Slogan
“…because the American people are too stupid to understand the difference.”
Believable.
You might be thinking that I meant to write “unbelievable.”
I didn’t.
This statement from one of the chief architects of Obamacare, Jonathan Gruber, makes total sense coming from such a high-minded (yet, ironically close-minded) liberal professor at an elite university where there is diversity in everything except thought and perspective. The phrase above promoting the opposite of policy transparency in writing and selling Obamacare to the public and the Congressional Budget Office as to whether it’s a tax and a major distribution of wealth (yes on both counts) should be the front page headline of the week, except that it was said by a liberal academic, so the major networks (NBC, ABC, CBS) clearly view this as unimportant, not shocking to their own personal beliefs or, since it’s damaging to President Obama and the Democratic Party’s ramming through, lies and shocking incompetence surrounding the ACA, it can’t be reported on or mentioned. In so many ways, the strategic deceit behind the structure of this bill gives credence to the well-supported belief that corruption and purposeful deceptions come naturally with big government.
President Obama’s big government is dependent on big lies (Obamacare, IRS, Benghazi, national surveillance of private citizens, targeting of journalists, Fast and Furious, etc.).
Not only does this fit perfectly into the narrative of how President Obama views his opponents (political and private citizens alike), but it confirms a much larger presumption about the theoretical “experts” that hail from the nation’s top academic institutions and the highest levels of government. Not all of them of course, but generally speaking in today’s divisive atmosphere, yes (FYI – Gruber is a professor at MIT). Liberal academic professors and legislative bureaucrats declare themselves (ever so subtly) as the “geniuses” of society and, therefore, the people are secondary (or possibly worse, we’ll have to wait for the next video) when it comes to intelligence. While Gruber’s intellect (well, “intellect”) clearly stems from a disgustingly insulting, trash-filled and oblivious-to-reality gutter, this blog will not step down to his level. Instead, a broader and positively measured reaction will be presented.
The pompous and incompetent statement (made at least twice, according to a new video) by Professor Gruber underscores a critical distinction between conservative and liberal thinkers. Generally, liberals believe that a powerful and influential centralized government is the best aspect of American society. This is where the power and supposedly real intelligence resides. These “geniuses” are smarter than all of us, so, therefore, we need them (their assumption) to tell us how to live, think and spend. Trust (in public and private institutions) is a valuable and fragile asset and once it’s abused or when those in power insult its customers/constituents, reactions of anger, resentment and distrust towards its leaders are undeniably valid and consequential.
Trust is earned, not given.
Conversely, conservatives tend to believe that a limited government is supreme because the best aspect of American society is the people, along with the competitive, innovative-inspiring dynamic of the marketplace. Americans have always and continue to willfully support and promote the virtues of freedom, liberty and opportunity as enacted by our brave, revolutionary founders. That’s really incredible because it’s been more than two centuries and many generations of people who voluntarily support and defend democracy, freedom and liberty without the government mandating such thoughts on the public. However, if Gruber has his way, perhaps free will and free speech will soon come with its own mandate of predetermined thought as set by himself and other like-minded and likely self-proclaimed “genius” individuals.
Yes, government plays a small, critical role and has had some unmistakable victories, like the decade-long mission to land on the Moon. Remarkable. But the real genius and shining, defining characteristics of the successful American society is deeply rooted in the belief in and actions of its people. This list is literally impossible to compile. And it’s the legislative leaders (and its advisers) who realize this, believe this and proudly promote this that will inspire an inherently motivated, intelligent and savvy population that can and will rise to fix any challenge (including healthcare).
That’s the transparent truth.
The Wisdom of the Garage
Public vs. Private.
This is a fiercely debated and complex issue that has a myriad of avenues to explore and a variety of micro and macro points to consider for in-depth analysis. Today, the focus will be centered on the latest example of this classic, everlasting battle of ideology and basic societal structure.
Speaking of putting ourselves into the right mindset…
Regarding ObamaCare, the people do have a fever of frustration and the only prescription appears to be increasingly less government.
The federal government, under President Obama, has had between 2-3 years to put together a website for his signature achievement…in the 21st century…in the year 2013.
Now, healthcare is recommended to be dealt with over the phone by the government.
Can’t imagine any problems or scams there. In a related story, Nigerian princes are discovered to be very happy this week.
Aside from fact that the policy of the law is unequivocally flawed, bad, unworkable, unsustainable and unfair, let’s focus on the website. Consider that Facebook (“thefacebook” back then) was digitally built by a group of college students (granted, from Harvard) that took user’s information and compiled a personal profile for them that was capable of being viewed, updated, shared and commented on by his or her friends with seemingly no limit on activity.
It worked.
Why?
Put simply, the founders and builders of “thefacebook” had the market incentive to create the best product because of the competitive landscape in social networks. They had to be the best for survival’s sake. Therefore, the company had to recruit the best talent with the skill-set to continually innovate and improve their product for the public and, most importantly, their voluntary members. Money had to be allocated prudently and the business decisions required great intelligence and foresight.
In the private marketplace, you have to be the best or you will very likely fail and go out of business. For many, that is the bottom line and the daily reality.
Conversely, in government, there is no such marketplace. Money is provided, which is usually bloated beyond belief. Correction: The public’s/our money is provided to the government contractors and is bloated beyond belief. Even still, the transaction is done so through a maze of red tape and is absent any competitor, let alone several. The public sector is not conducive to consistently producing high quality and innovation influenced by a variety of critical market incentives, pressures and rewards.
“Our team is bringing in some of the best and brightest from both inside and outside government to scrub in with the team and help improve HealthCare.gov.” As reported yesterday by Washington Post columnist Ezra Klein, the aforementioned statement was a weekend notice from the Department of Health and Human Services.
The obvious question: Why weren’t the best and brightest brought in in the first place?
The obvious answer: The best and brightest don’t work in the government.
Silicon Valley is the hub of technological genius in the United States and even around the world. This is one of the places where the best and brightest work. Freedom to imagine is coupled with personal responsibility and monetary limitations, which creates the atmosphere for ingenuity and potentially terrific outcomes. Contemplate how many successful start-ups and society-altering companies were born in garages (Apple, HP) and small offices just outside San Francisco.
People in a garage with nothing more than a crazy, outlandish dream and a little business savvy have established a better and a more cognitive environment than the hundreds of millions of dollars the federal government doled out for the new healthcare.gov website that had years to be constructed.
If Apple or Google had premiered like this, there would be no Apple or Google today.
Actually, that’s not true.
Apple and Google never would have concocted, put together and premiered such an unworkable and fiscally unsustainable disaster for the public.
That’s the lesson from the best and the brightest.