United Liberty
government intervention
Flatline ObamaCare
Sat, 07/18/2009 - 8:50am | posted by Brett Bittner
Interestingly, government intervention in the 1960s introduced a third party (insurance co/HMO/PPO, etc) into the one-on-one relationship between doctor and patient. Prior to that, people paid premiums for medical insurance policies designed to cover catastrophic medical events like cancer, serious accidents and the like, NOT for physicals, check ups or routine visits. Instead, the DOCTOR and the PATIENT negotiated a rate for services based on the patient’s ability to pay on an individual case by case basis. The introduction of a third party shorts the doctor AND raises the costs for the the patient, as the third party must also be paid. Yes, health costs have soared, but further government intervention - especially a government takeover of a free market healthcare system - is NOT the answer.
Government Intervention Run Amuck: Bank Intervention
Mon, 04/20/2009 - 7:00am | posted by Katy Delay
My list of examples of the unintended consequences of government intervention in the marketplace gets longer and longer. This time, I’m going to point out the latest irony: Investment banking’s profitable last quarter.
This would be wonderful news if it were genuine, but looking a little deeper reveals the truth. First, in one of Barron’s feature articles by Andrew Bary, we learn about a little-discussed fact: Goldman Sachs has only been able to issue low-cost debt due to the backing of the FDIC through a program called the TLGP, or Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program.
Reality Check: The Government’s Stimulus and Bail-Out Plan
Mon, 01/19/2009 - 11:57am | posted by Katy Delay
For my first post at United Liberty, I offer a cartoon about the government’s grand new ideas- I think it’s self-explanatory.
(Click on the image for a larger version.)
Americans believe government is doing too much
Mon, 09/21/2009 - 6:20pm | posted by Jason Pye
A new Gallup poll shows Americans believe that government is doing too much and it putting too many restrictions on business:
These two measures are based on questions Gallup has asked each September since 2001, and intermittently before that. The 57% level of public concern about big government in this survey is, among other things, coincident with an extensively increased government involvement in the economy, and the extensive focus on a large-scale government effort to reform healthcare that was underway as this survey was being conducted.
Forty-five percent of Americans say there is too much regulation of business, while 27% say the amount of regulation is about right and 24% say there is too little regulation.
[…]
the 45% “too much” reading is the highest of the decade and is higher than the one Gallup reading prior to this decade, in March 1993. However, a March 1981 Los Angeles Times poll using this question wording recorded a 54% “too much” level. This was just after Ronald Reagan took office, and may have reflected Reagan’s emphasis during the 1980 presidential campaign on the need to reduce government involvement in American society.
If I were Barack Obama, I’d start paying attention to these numbers, especially as he pushes cap-and-trade and his leviathan of a health package.
Nationalization, By Any Other Name
Mon, 03/02/2009 - 7:58am | posted by Katy Delay
The word “nationalization” has put fear and trembling into the American marketplace, and understandably so. It rings of socialism, of the European model, of the Third-Way progressive compromise. It’s the death knell of the American form of free-market capitalism that is the foundational pillar beneath our symbolic hegemony over the rest of the world.
Apparently our current administration and its Congress don’t believe this for a minute, because they haven’t yet caught onto the fact that the word needs more than just denial; it needs replacement.
Keep the Government Out of the CEO’s Pockets!
Sat, 02/28/2009 - 12:14pm | posted by David Carlson
Before you write a lengthy response to the title of this blog and accuse me of supporting ‘greed’ and the ‘ultra-rich,’ allow me to explain myself.
Big government has led us into a situation that I can’t see ending well. Public outcry against excessive executive salary has been going on for years. “Why should they make $1,000,000 and the worker only make $20,000?” “They don’t do more than the average worker!” The comments go on and on and on. I think people need to look at this from a totally different perspective instead of believing they are getting jipped or ripped off.
Ron Paul on CNN (1/27) - Criticizing U.S. Economic Policies
Thu, 01/29/2009 - 1:09am | posted by David Carlson
Ron Paul criticizes U.S. economic policy and says that the private market should be the one spending money, not the government. He says we are “treating the symptoms rather than the cause.” He believes a change in foreign policy is needed to help turnaround the economy.
Check out the video, there is lots of good stuff!
