The Prudent Ox Economics and Financial Blog

Common-sense thoughts on the US and global economies, gold, silver, commodities, interest rates, the Federal Reserve, foreign currencies, and government policy decisions that affect the markets.

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Location: Denver, Colorado, United States

Thursday, November 05, 2009

Democrats Acting Like Thelma and Louise

You probably know the ending of the movie Thelma and Louise, where they find themselves cornered by the police. Seeing no way out from getting arrested, they hold hands - gun the accelerator, and drive the car off the cliff.

Democrats in Congress seem hell-bent on doing the same thing with their political party - and the American economy - with the so-called "health care reform" bill, H.R. 3962. They see a small window of opportunity to pass the socialist utopian legislation they've dreamed about for decades.

Nancy Pelosi, giddy with excitement - but severely lacking in financial, economic or Constitutional literacy - is collectively holding hands with other Senators and CongressCritters, putting the petal to the metal and ready to push 1/6 of the American economy off the proverbial cliff. Even though our health care system does need reform, it should come from the "invisible hand" of the free market - not the heavy hand of goverment.

I'll readily concede the health care system in our country isn't perfect. Services are usually too expensive to pay for out-of-pocket, and it's too heavily weighted towards prescription drugs and surgeries - versus preventive medicine (which I prefer), such as chiropractic adjustments and taking nutritional supplements. Government's track record of running enterprises successfully - compared to the private sector - has been pretty dismal.

The U.S. Postal Service has been in business for over 230 years, and still can't turn a profit. Compare the USPS to Federal Express, which has been successful in less than four decades.

So-called "experts" proclaimed back in 1965 that Medicare Part A would only cost $9 billion by 1990. Obviously that figure was grossly underestimated, and costs many times that today.

Compare this to the President's claim that this so-called health-care reform will be "deficit neutral." Yeah, sure Barry - now pull my other leg, it plays Jingle Bells. It's obvious that whatever is said from almost all politicians in Washington D.C. (with the exception of Ron Paul) should be taken with a shaker of salt, and assumed false until proven true.

This kamikaze political maneuver by the Democrats is accelerating their rush to make America a socialist country. They may also be accelerating the end - or at least the beginning of the end - of the two-party political system. The Dems will ram and jam this "health-care reform" through Congress, and Americans will see the bitter fruits of their labor in the next few years.

In the past, Republicans would benefit from this, seeing the political tides turn back their way - at least for the short-term future. However, I don't see this happening like it has in the past. George W. Bush and other neo-conservatives have so badly damaged the credibility - or the "brand" - of the party, that more and more people (yours truly included) are looking for an alternative to the two-headed, one-party system, as Gerald Celente calls it.

The NY-23 Congressional race is a perfect example of voters' disgust and distrust of politics as usual. It's amazing that the 3rd-party candidate - Conservative Doug Hoffman - garnered about 45% of the vote, and almost won. Even with the endorsement from GOP leaders like Michael Steele and Newt Gingrich, Republicans gave Dede Scozzafava a resounding rejection because of her radical political views.

The Chinese saying "May you live in interesting times" can be both a blessing and a curse. That's what I see both economically and politically for America in the coming years. The stock market and economic implosion the past couple of years is just the opening act. We'll see plenty of financial and political fireworks in the years to come. The Democrats' bad political theatre is the start of Round 2 of these "interesting times." Tray tables should be in the locked and upright position, and seat belts securely fastened.