I see that watered down the audit of the FED. I think you sold out and are trying to appear like you havent

Utopia versus freedom

By Thomas Sowell












http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | "Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom." We have heard that many times. What is also the price of freedom is the toleration of imperfections. If everything that is wrong with the world becomes a reason to turn more power over to some political savior, then freedom is going to erode away, while we are mindlessly repeating the catchwords of the hour, whether "change," "universal health care" or "social justice."


If we can be so easily stampeded by rhetoric that neither the public nor the Congress can be bothered to read, much less analyze, bills making massive changes in medical care, then do not be surprised when life and death decisions about you or your family are taken out of your hands — and out of the hands of your doctor — and transferred to bureaucrats in Washington.


Let's go back to square one. The universe was not made to our specifications. Nor were human beings. So there is nothing surprising in the fact that we are dissatisfied with many things at many times. The big question is whether we are prepared to follow any politician who claims to be able to "solve" our "problem."


If we are, then there will be a never ending series of "solutions," each causing new problems calling for still more "solutions." That way lies a never-ending quest, costing ever increasing amounts of the taxpayers' money and — more important — ever greater losses of your freedom to live your own life as you see fit, rather than as presumptuous elites dictate.

FREE SUBSCRIPTION TO INFLUENTIAL NEWSLETTER

Every weekday NewsAndOpinion.com publishes what many in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". HUNDREDS of columnists and cartoonists regularly appear. Sign up for the daily update. It's free. Just click here.



Ultimately, our choice is to give up Utopian quests or give up our freedom. This has been recognized for centuries by some, but many others have not yet faced that reality, even today. If you think government should "do something" about anything that ticks you off, or anything you want and don't have, then you have made your choice between Utopia and freedom.


Back in the 18th century, Edmund Burke said, "It is no inconsiderable part of wisdom, to know much of an evil ought to be tolerated" and "I must bear with infirmities until they fester into crimes."


But today's crusading zealots are not about to tolerate evils or infirmities. If insurance companies are not behaving the way some people think they should, then their answer is to set up a government bureaucracy to either control insurance companies or replace them.


If doctors, hospitals or pharmaceutical companies charge more than some people feel like paying, then the answer is price control. The actual track record of politicians, government bureaucracies, or price control is of no interest to those who think this way.


Politicians are already one of the main reasons why medical insurance is so expensive. Insurance is designed to cover risks but politicians are in the business of distributing largesse. Nothing is easier for politicians than to mandate things that insurance companies must cover, without the slightest regard for how such additional coverage will raise the cost of insurance.


If insurance covered only those things that most people are most concerned about — the high cost of a major medical expense — the price would be much lower than it is today, with politicians piling on mandate after mandate.


Since insurance covers risks, there is no reason for it to cover annual checkups, because it is known in advance that annual checkups occur once a year. Automobile insurance does not cover oil changes, much less the purchase of gasoline, since these are regular recurrences, not risks.


But politicians in the business of distributing largesse — especially with somebody else's money — cannot resist the temptation to pass laws adding things to insurance coverage. Many of those who are pushing for more government involvement in medical care are already talking about extending insurance coverage to "mental health" — which is to say, giving shrinks and hypochondriacs a blank check drawn on the federal treasury.


There are still some voices of sanity today, echoing what Edmund Burke said long ago. "The study of human institutions is always a search for the most tolerable imperfections," according to Prof. Richard Epstein of the University of Chicago. If you cannot tolerate imperfections, be prepared to kiss your freedom goodbye.

"The power which a multiple millionaire, who may be my neighbour and perhaps my employer, has over me is very much less that which the smallest functionaire possess who wield the coercive power of the state, and on whose discretion it depends whether and how I am able to be allowed to live or work."

F. A. Hayek

Question for Senator Sanders and other progressives alike.....where in the Constitution is it stated (enumerated) that Congress has the power to be benevolent and charitable with our private property? To take from one person to give to another person without his consent is theivery. If I steal your property so I can do the benevolent act of paying for my Grandmother's hip replacement I would be prosecuted for theft. What is ironic, however, is if Senator Sanders and his fellow progressives (do-gooders) do it by an act of Congress it is called moral and benevolent. The hypocracy...the hypocracy! Why can't you progressives see and understand that private property rights are at the very core of our inalienable rights as citizens of this great nation. The fact that Senator Sanders and other progessives in Congress feel they have a moral obligation to insure everyone in our country is dangerous and ludicrous. Do you followers of this progressive movement not understand that they must now make a "claim" on even more of your private property. He keeps talking about the middle-class shrinking...hmmm...more taxes means less private property for the middle-class to trade for greater wealth. Its really that simple....don't let Senator Sanders do your thinking for you.

For a long time, Senators Sanders, Kucinich, and Representative Weiner were so outspoken about Single Payer - Medicare for all but recently they all have been conspiculously silent about health care reform. This is surprising since health care reform has been stalled and is very much in need of real leadership. I am very concerned that there is nefarious pressure on these brave and outspoken leaders. If this is so, the US is seriously threatened with serious failure.

Dear Bernie
Since I live in Oklahoma I have no voice in Washington. I rely on you and your fellow progressives.
I will be sending you a small donation to help you carry on the fight for America... NO the fight for AMERICANS. This is a turning point in our country. It is damn scary. We must win. This is truly a fight between corporations vs individual. I feel we have already lost the fight. You are the only hope.
Thank you for what you do. Keep up the important work you are doing !