Earlier, a day or two after the Supreme Court decision to uphold Obamacare on the basis that it was a tax (again, it was specifically and vociferously sold as "not a tax", and knuckle-dragging Tea Partiers who characterized it as such were only doing so because they are racist .... ahem ....) from Huffington Post, entitled "Don't Like Obamacare? Here are some countries you can move to."
My immediate response was, "Stomping our feet and threatening to move to another country isn't our schtick. HuffPo has us confused with .... well ... themselves." That's been the Left's schtick for a long time.
This cartoon, is, of course, saying the same thing. But I've never heard any Tea Partier threaten to move to another country for any reason. And I hang around a lot of Tea Partiers. Tea Partiers are Tea Partiers because they love America -- where you are in control of as much of your destiny as you can be. That's not "America", the land within it's current borders. America was America long before these 50 states existed. America is the idea that all men are created equal and are endowed by their creator certain inalienable rights, among those being life, liberty, and property (re-phrased as "the persuit of happiness -- anyone familiar with the history of the concept of natural law can see this plainly.)
On the other hand, I've heard lots of leftists threaten to move to another country when it is percieved something might not go their way. Alas, they almost never follow through.
Why is it that the Left bemoans the imposition of American ideals elsewhere in the world, yet have no problem implementing their decidedly un-American ideals on ... Americans? I mean, they stand here among us loudly de-legitimizing our culture while simultaneously telling us all cultures are equally good and valid? It "boggles the mind".
In the progressive mind, their laws getting passed amounts to forward progress. (Towards what? I always ask. A cliff? Moving any direction as long as you're facing that way is "forward". It doesn't mean it's right.). So in their minds, Obamacare "passed" and the Supreme Court decision "sealed" it, ensuring that America will "move forward" to where most of the other industrialized countries have already gone. Hold that thought.
The cartoon does have an element of truth to it, in that many Tea Partiers are older Americans who have reached the age where they are relying on Social Security and Medicare ... two Big Government programs. And it is an issue that the Left will bring up to silence older Americans who have recently either come to the realization that Big Government is ultimately a bad thing, or did not fully realize the extent to which they had allowed government to grow and left the gate wide open for more, more more.
Few in the Tea Party would advocate yanking the rug from under these people by immediately abolishing these programs. Many people have relied on and planned upon promises by the government when making life decisions on where and how they will live in their retirement. As a matter of fact, I imagine many would proabably like to keep them around for those who truly need a temporary helping hand. What we are saying is we need to stop making promises we can't keep, and doubly so when they undermine the incentive for individuals to pull their own weight. But what we all agree on is this: these programs are behemoths that we can't possibly pay for in their current forms, and as we look at them many of us have come to the realization that, taking human nature into account, this was bound to happen from the beginning. When you create a giant pool of money, it attracts everyone from moochers to those who pedal influence with moochers, along with corruption. And in a country the size of ours, a centrally-run charity system, or even a centrally run insurance system or retirement program -- is going to necesarily create a giant pool of money, far from its sources and far from its intended targets, that the hyenas and vultures and parasites of the world will flock to in droves, ever driving up its costs to the point where ....
Have you ever looked at the national debt clock? It is truly frightening. You've heard of our $15 Trillion (and growing) national debt. But that's just the money we owe other countries. And the Fed, some, I believe as well, since under Obama we've taken to buying our own debt (which amounts to printing up money, devaluing our currency). Look at the bottom line there. In addition to our $15 Trillion in debt, we are almost $16 Trillion in the hole on Social Security alone.
And about that Medicare. $82 Trillion in the hole. No, that's not a typo. Add perscription drug coverage to that and Social Security, and it goes to almost $120 TRILLION. Then add our national debt. $135 TRILLION. And it's only growing.
And the biggest chunk of that is ... Medicare. Our version of semi-socialized medicine.
So ... remember when I told you to hold that thought? Yes, other industrialized countries have government-run, universal health care systems. And they're going bankrupt, one after another. And we're diving headlong into that with Obamacare, and we already have $100 TRILLION head start!
One of the reasons I joined the Tea Party, as much as one can "Join" it ... there is no official membership other than raising your hand and saying "count me in!" is to help steer the conversation of those in the movement who know something's wrong and have an inkling what --- but who have not really come to grips that Social Security and Medicare are Big Government Programs.
One of the things the cartoon illustrates best is the moral hazard of relying on Big Government for your financial survival. They've got you right where they want you when you realize its power has grown too large.
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