Posted by
Hard Right with No Apologies on Monday, April 23, 2007 1:28:03 PM
"1984" is the plain title of the novel which, along with Huxley's "Brave New World," has become synonymous with the concept of oppressive totalitarian government. The novel is a "dystopia," the opposite of utopia. In an ideal, utopian society, everything is rosy and wonderful; in a dystopia such as "1984", there is no joy and no hope.
Oddly, real-life dystopias such as the former Soviet Union and the current state of Iran began with high and rosy ideals. In the Russian case, the goal was equality of all citizens. Of course, it rapidly became evident that the theory totally ignored human nature, such that some quickly elevated themselves to positions of total power (e.g. Stalin) while other "equal" citizens were ground to dust. In Iran's case, the premise is that everyone is totally subservient to a demanding, bloodthirsty god. Again, men with power lust have risen to the pinnacle of that mentally ill society, leaving the others to suffer.
Though they are over two decades late, the liberals in the Minnesota House are hard at work in an attempt to create our own totalitarian dystopia. SF 2171, the Health and Human Services Bill, has been advanced to the open debate stage. True to form, the bill's sponsors promise a rosy and wonderful future. Like all liberals, the sponsors of this piece of legislative garbage are both naive and hypocritical. They're naive in that they actually think it will improve our society, and they're hypocritical in that they know full well it won't. Au contraire, they realize it will only result in a stodgy mess--but it will advance their ultimate goal of power and control.
SF 2171 mandates the creation of a health insurance "exchange" from which all Minnesotans who desire health coverage would be required to purchase their health insurance. This would be egregious folly for several reasons:
1. It would be an arrogant violation of the freedom of choice which is embodied in the term "liberty." Liberals act as if they don't understand the term, even though it's the founding principle of the United States of America. More than likely, they do indeed comprehend its meaning but abhor its implications, since it lessens their opportunity to gain positions of totalitarian control. I buy my auto insurance, my home insurance, my life insurance, and my disability insurance from whomever I please in the competitive capitalist economy which has worked so well for centuries in this country. And now a group of power-mad liberals are going to dictate where I must buy my health insurance? Who do they think they are?
2. It creates a bloated, expensive, unnecessary bureaucracy. Bureaucracies are like camels: they're huge, they're ugly, and they stink. Once their nose is in the tent, they take over. The apparatus proposed in SF 2171 would be like a giant grocery exchange, requiring everyone to buy their food from the government store rather than choosing from Cub, Rainbow, Kowalski's, or the farmer's market. Why in the world would that be a good idea?
3. Chillingly, it would give legal sanction to the busybodies who want to know everything about you for purposes of further control. The Exchange would know the full name, SSN, health plan, premium payment, insured status, and medical condition of everyone buying health insurance whether privately or through an employer. Do you want the government to know about your hemorrhoids?
4. It would eliminate the personal service you now receive, when various health insurers are competing for your business, and result in a faceless, couldn't-care-less cadre of functionaries who treat you like a number.
5. The Exchange would be above the law. If it violated your rights, say by the release of personal medical information which prevented you from obtaining a job or embarrassed you publicly, it would incur no liability.
6. Health care costs would increase dramatically, for two reasons: one, every bureaucracy is far more expensive than market-driven forces, and two, it would be a cumbersome, ever-growing layer of cost between the insurer and the insured.
SF 2171 is a horrible bill, not only for the reasons above but also because it would be the first step in a totalitarian state where the government knows everything about you and has control over most of what you do. Health insurance would only be the first step. Next would be regulation of medical care, and then perhaps mandatory redistribution of your income to those who can afford less competent medical treatments than you can. The implications are chilling. That indeed is one huge, ugly, and very smelly camel.
For more enlightenment on the motivations behind SF 2171, I encourage you to scroll down through these blog postings and read "The Psychology of a Liberal" and "America's Parasitic Danger." These articles frame the worldview behind this monstrosity entitled SF 2171.
Friends, pick up the phone. Call our RINO governor and tell him to stop his approval of this ridiculous proposal. Tell him, and tell your Minnesota legislators, that this is the land of the free, not the land of the governed. The only way to stop a playground bully is to smack him in the nose so he learns not to pick on you any more. The only way to stop a liberal is to scream "NO! NO! NO!" until they back down, sulking and murmuring, waiting for another day to spring another choking bureaucracy upon us.