Last Tuesday night three friends and I had the privilege of attending an event hosted by the Center of the American Experiment at Orchestra Hall. The guest speaker was Steve Forbes. After having our pictures taken,and a wonderful social hour, we settled in for an interesting evening. We were invited by my friend Devin Foley who is the president and CEO of Intellctual TakeOut, a website program who's purpose is to educate college students and others who want to know the opposing side to any issues, from environmentalism to economics.
Some of the interesting points made by Mr. Forbes include: Free Markets have a moral foundation and have a mutually beneficial exchange; commerce and philanthropy are the same side of a coin. Our free markets are based on personal liberty and that allows for human imagination and ingenuity. He made the point using "oil". It is, on it's own, just a sludge substance - you can't eat it, drink it, wear it, -it is essentially useless without man's imagination and innovation.
There will always be the "bad side"of capitalism, the Maydoff's, etc - but Capitalism is NOT bad. There are rules of the road - so to speak - but government does not tell us what we can and can't do. He gave the example of Steve Jobs and Itunes. People were illegally taking music, and Mr. Jobs came up with a solution.
He pointed out that the economic catastophe we are now experiencing was caused by government errors, such as monetary policy. He said printing money is essentially flooding the engine, and he said that politicians shouldn't change the value of what you earn. Then he spoke of the commodity bubble and the housing crisis, putting folks who can't afford houses into them, and this resulted in a situation where we now have mark to market. Again, all of these "bad" government decisions and policies have caused the crisis we are in today.
What is the solution according to Mr. Forbes. He said,
"This finger-pointing at capitalism is absolutely misplaced. Every economic disaster during the last 100 years has its origins in bad government economic policies, from the Smoot-Hawley Tariff, which triggered the Great Depression, to the Federal Reserve's excessive printing of money, which brought us the Great Inflation of the 1970s and the recent housing bubble.
Despite many people's incomplete understanding of free markets (which is why I, along with coauthor Elizabeth Ames, wrote How Capitalism Will Save Us: Why Free People and Free Markets Are the Best Answer in Today's Economy), there's a general appreciation that they usually work better than government-dominated ones. Hence the growing political backlash against the Obama Administration's attempt to nationalize health care and extend Washington's tentacles deeper into more areas of our economic lives. This is also why the election results earlier this month were so important. More and more, Americans are disturbed and, indeed, angered by what they see unfolding in the way of binge spending, increased tax burdens and government power-grabbing. The idea that a bloated federal government having more sway over health care will render us better outcomes at less cost for patients with cancer, heart disease and other illnesses is headshakingly preposterous. If Washington doesn't change course--and the House vote for a monstrous health care bill demonstrates it won't--incumbents, who these days are mostly Democrats, will suffer severely next November. Incumbency is normally a huge advantage in an election, but it's become an albatross, as New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg can ruefully attest after nearly losing his reelection bid to an underfinanced and largely unknown opponent.
Fortunately for us the opposition to Obama's push for more government control has deep philosophical underpinnings and an impressive array of positive policy alternatives, such as a sound dollar, cuts in tax rates, spending restraints and a host of free-enterprise reforms for health care, including allowing people to shop around the country for health insurance instead of being confined to choices in their respective states."
As a candidate who believes in less government intrusion and free market capitalism, I was encouraged to hear this perspective.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Monday, November 9, 2009
Everything Will Be Free Except the People
My husband Greg and I along with 3 friends just returned from Washington DC where we participated with 20,000 people from all across this great nation in opposition to the 2000 page bill which would give our country nationalized health care. After hearing Michele Bachmann on a local radio program pleading with folks to come to Washington for a noon rally on the Capitol steps, we decided we needed to go. We heard her say that our e-mails, letters and phone calls were being ignored, and that our Representatives needed to see the "whites of our eyes" to know that we are against this massive takeover of one fifth of our economy.
We left on Wednesday about 9:30 in the morning, and drove straight through to Washington DC. We arrived very early on the morning of November 5. We freshened up in a public restroom in one of the train stations near the capitol and began going from office to office, visiting a variety of Minnesota Representatives.
Our first stop was to visit Michele Bachmann. There was much activity there, people coming and going and a great sense of excitement and resolve as they anticipated the rally at noon on the Capitol lawn. From there we went to Representative John Kline's office. He was in a meeting when we arrived, but as we were signing in, he came out and very warmly welcomed us in to his office. He showed us the monstrous bill and had many tabs on pages where he and his colleagues had concerns. The main concerns for Rep. Kline and his colleagues were: the costs, rationing of care, and the taking of individual liberties. We were very impressed by his willingness to take the time with us. It was apparent that his staff was trying to get him to move on to get to his next meeting, but he was giving us his full and undivided attention and we were very grateful.
Next we went to Erik Paulsen's office and he wasn't in. We had a great chat with his staffer, Stacey. Then it was on to Tim Walz's office. He was not available according to his staff, but as we were signing in as visitors, he came out of this office. He was pleasant and happy to see some Minnesota folks. When we asked him about the bill, however the mood changed quickly. We were surprised and dismayed by his answers to our concerns. He said there was no provision for tax-payer funding of abortion in the bill, and he said that the Hyde amendment was contained in the bill,(which it is NOT), that the bill was revenue neutral and will not cost citizens more money. He also said that 97.3% of his constituents were for the bill and that the Mayo clinic was in favor of the bill as well. When we asked Mr. Walz, "where in the US constitution does it allow the federal government to mandate that we "purchase" anything or that Healthcare is a "right"", he answered, that because he had served 24 years in the military, he had earned the "right to interpret the Constitution".
Our next stop was Betty McCollum's office, but she was not in. Next we went to Keith Ellison's office. He was saying all the same things that Congressman Walz said and only seemed to have his interest peaked when my husband voiced his concerns about our son with Spina Bifida not receiving timely medical attention, or surgery when it will be needed.
We then worked our way over to the Capitol lawn where we were joined by 20,000+ people from around the country. There were young families, young professionals, senior citizens - people from all walks of life. We enjoyed patriotic music as we gathered. The rally started with prayer, the pledge of allegience and the singing of God Bless America. We were encouraged by Michele Bachmann, Jon Voight, Mark Levin and many others whose main message and theme was that "this bill will crush our freedom and liberties". There were chants at various times from the crowd, "kill the bill" and the like, but the people were respectful and yet passionate. After the rally, folks went to all three office buidlings where their Senators and Representatives have their offices and every door had lines that went around the blocks. They were determined to let their politicians know that they DO NOT WANT THIS BILL................
We are well aware that most folks did not have the time and resources to make this trip and we were happy to be there to make our voices heard on behalf of so many of our friends and supporters. Please know that I will continue to work hard and sacrifice to represent you with the values and principles this country was founded upon.
Sadly at At 11:09 p.m. EST Saturday Nov. 7, the U.S. House voted to impose socialized medicine on all Americans. The final vote was 220 - 215, with one lone Republican, Joseph Cao (R-LA), voting for the bill.
To quote my good friend Twila Brase, "This is no time to give up. That would be their hope. It should not be yours. Passage in the U.S. Senate will be more difficult for reformers and socialists. Prepare to pour the pressure on. Do not go home, give up, or go away!
We left on Wednesday about 9:30 in the morning, and drove straight through to Washington DC. We arrived very early on the morning of November 5. We freshened up in a public restroom in one of the train stations near the capitol and began going from office to office, visiting a variety of Minnesota Representatives.
Our first stop was to visit Michele Bachmann. There was much activity there, people coming and going and a great sense of excitement and resolve as they anticipated the rally at noon on the Capitol lawn. From there we went to Representative John Kline's office. He was in a meeting when we arrived, but as we were signing in, he came out and very warmly welcomed us in to his office. He showed us the monstrous bill and had many tabs on pages where he and his colleagues had concerns. The main concerns for Rep. Kline and his colleagues were: the costs, rationing of care, and the taking of individual liberties. We were very impressed by his willingness to take the time with us. It was apparent that his staff was trying to get him to move on to get to his next meeting, but he was giving us his full and undivided attention and we were very grateful.
Next we went to Erik Paulsen's office and he wasn't in. We had a great chat with his staffer, Stacey. Then it was on to Tim Walz's office. He was not available according to his staff, but as we were signing in as visitors, he came out of this office. He was pleasant and happy to see some Minnesota folks. When we asked him about the bill, however the mood changed quickly. We were surprised and dismayed by his answers to our concerns. He said there was no provision for tax-payer funding of abortion in the bill, and he said that the Hyde amendment was contained in the bill,(which it is NOT), that the bill was revenue neutral and will not cost citizens more money. He also said that 97.3% of his constituents were for the bill and that the Mayo clinic was in favor of the bill as well. When we asked Mr. Walz, "where in the US constitution does it allow the federal government to mandate that we "purchase" anything or that Healthcare is a "right"", he answered, that because he had served 24 years in the military, he had earned the "right to interpret the Constitution".
Our next stop was Betty McCollum's office, but she was not in. Next we went to Keith Ellison's office. He was saying all the same things that Congressman Walz said and only seemed to have his interest peaked when my husband voiced his concerns about our son with Spina Bifida not receiving timely medical attention, or surgery when it will be needed.
We then worked our way over to the Capitol lawn where we were joined by 20,000+ people from around the country. There were young families, young professionals, senior citizens - people from all walks of life. We enjoyed patriotic music as we gathered. The rally started with prayer, the pledge of allegience and the singing of God Bless America. We were encouraged by Michele Bachmann, Jon Voight, Mark Levin and many others whose main message and theme was that "this bill will crush our freedom and liberties". There were chants at various times from the crowd, "kill the bill" and the like, but the people were respectful and yet passionate. After the rally, folks went to all three office buidlings where their Senators and Representatives have their offices and every door had lines that went around the blocks. They were determined to let their politicians know that they DO NOT WANT THIS BILL................
We are well aware that most folks did not have the time and resources to make this trip and we were happy to be there to make our voices heard on behalf of so many of our friends and supporters. Please know that I will continue to work hard and sacrifice to represent you with the values and principles this country was founded upon.
Sadly at At 11:09 p.m. EST Saturday Nov. 7, the U.S. House voted to impose socialized medicine on all Americans. The final vote was 220 - 215, with one lone Republican, Joseph Cao (R-LA), voting for the bill.
To quote my good friend Twila Brase, "This is no time to give up. That would be their hope. It should not be yours. Passage in the U.S. Senate will be more difficult for reformers and socialists. Prepare to pour the pressure on. Do not go home, give up, or go away!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
