Gov't Take Over

I don't really consider myself a conspiracy theorist, but are some things happening now-a-days that are really starting to concern me. Over the past couple of years I have seen the Federal Government begin to take over or severely regulate sectors of our economy and our lives that give me a moment’s pause. It makes me stop and ask myself, "what are the goals of these efforts to regulate and control?"

The beginning of the end of truly free markets and limited government began with the New Deal under FDR (Some would say it really started with W. Wilson). I am over simplifying things a bit but when the feds decided that individuals couldn't grow their own food without congressional say-so, that really took a bite out of our freedoms and the decline started. And it has been going downhill ever since. There have been a few, if narrowly focused, attempts to change things around such as Reagan's repeal of the so-called fairness doctrine. But the loss of freedom has been mostly by little steps (FDA, Dept Edu, etc) and a few big ones (Great Society, Health Care reform)

Here are a few of the areas the federal government has decided are too important to allow the free market and already existing regulations to control:

1. Wall Street Reform. We were told this bill needed to be passed so that the collapse of Wall Street wouldn't happen again. We are told this bill will protect us and keep us from harm. I think if you look a little closer at the bill and ask yourself, "why would the Wall Street giants support this bill?", I think you'll discover this bill isn't so good for you and me

2. Health Care Reform (Obama Care). What a SNAFU this is turning out to be.  Remember when Nancy Pelosi said "we have to pass the bill so you can find out what’s in it"?  Well, we're beginning to find out what is in the bill and more and more people do not like it one bit. I think at last count 21 states have filed suit arguing the constitutionality of the bill

3. Government Motors (GM). Does anyone really think that the US government won't still be in the car business two years from now even though efforts are being made to sell stocks? And does anyone really think that Obama isn't going to use GM to further his green economy at tax payer expense? And does anyone think the individual investors in GM will ever get their money back? The purchase of GM was a cluster-grope from the word "go".

4. Student Loans. By removing the middle man Obama and company completely destroyed an entire industry.  Was this a proving ground for his desire to destroy the coal industry? A little off topic so I'll save it for another post, but this is just another example where liberals who are in love with government control think that the government can do something better than the private sector. I don't think it will take long for us to discover how false this is. Unless corruption and waste is the goal, and there isn't a private industry that hold a candle to the feds when it comes to wasteful spending

5. Mortgage business. Another example of an industry wiped out by federal intrusion and the desire to control a sector of the economy. If you just look at the surface numbers, mortgage businesses going out of business might not seem like much. Not a whole lot of people were impacted and the job losses probably didn't even cause a blip on the unemployment rate.  But it goes deeper. Up until a few years ago, buying a house was considered the best investment someone could make. People bought a home to lay the foundation for a retirement nest egg, as collateral for a college education, and other things. A lot of money and individual freedoms were tied up in home ownership. What economy-controlling and individual liberties-hating liberal wouldn't see this as a chance to further intrude and control the individual? It was just too much for them to pass up.

6. The soon to be passed "Food Bill". Health care, college education, home ownership, your investments, and now your food. Do you see a pattern here? Gain control, dictate how, what, where, when. Freedom lost. While I have not read through the entire bill (too much lawyer-speak), I have picked up on how Congress and the FDA want to control food production and processing down to the individual.  Home gardens will be regulated.

Over the next few days and weeks I will attempt to cover some of this from my perspective. I will be doing some more research. I will do my absolute best to avoid this but I will probably inadvertently quote someone without credit.

I truly hope the Rep control House will be enough of a bulwark against this tide until 2012 when the conservative movement is able to gain control of the Senate and the WH.