Government is not a panacea

Government is not a panacea

I read with disbelief Tom Teune’s Nov. 11 letter. He gleefully wrote, “The election has been won for responsible government. President Obama will administer a central government for the general welfare of all the people.”

He summed up the supposed benefits as the continuation of Big Bird on public TV, effective disaster relief for the East Coast (we can now ignore balancing the budget), an EPA-guaranteed healthy environment, decreased military spending, Wall Street regulations that will prevent another financial crisis, and all citizens having access to health care.

Good grief, man, the only thing you forgot was to instruct us all to lock arms and sing “Kum Ba Ya.”

I wouldn’t have believed that people could be so naive as to think that government is a panacea, except that so many letters in a number of papers all say the same thing. There’s a pervasive belief that all good things come from our central governing father in Washington, D.C., rather than from our father of heavenly lights (James 1:17). You don’t trust the unethical behavior on Wall Street, yet you trust the politicians? Haven’t you heard? Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Excited about health care access? The Wall Street Journal reported that, thanks to Obamacare, companies are placing employees on part-time status to avoid having to provide insurance. Don’t count on Medicaid; the government-touted Medicaid HMOs, Illinicare and Aetna Better Health, aren’t widely accepted by post-acute care providers, so where’s the access?

Cut military spending to make our enemies go away? Sorry, they’re still there. How much are you prepared to pay for that fresh EPA air — it’s going to cost you. Want to keep running up the deficit, do you? No matter, you can still continue your study of economics from Big Bird on PBS.

Brian Van Dine

Carol Stream