Adding this new, monumental pressure could very well be the straw that will break the dollar’s back.
As Washington continues debating healthcare reform the rest of thecountry is primarily concerned about jobs and the economy. It is stilluncertain what policies will be implemented, but I am certain about onething: It will only further devastate our economy and our dollar. The leadership has come up with a proposal they are confidentwill be what they consider fiscally responsible, only to have it scoredas nearly twice as expensive by the nonpartisan Congressional BudgetOffice. Estimates of past healthcare spending programs have been offby as much as 100 percent so there is no telling what the actual costwill be.
The past century should have taught us one thing: that governmentintervention is expensive. Government programs lend themselves soeasily to waste, fraud and abuse. Combine that with overallinefficiency and it all adds up to a hefty price tag for the taxpayer,with not much leftover for actual services. An outright takeover of anentire sector of the economy, especially one as important ashealthcare, is something that we just cannot afford for the governmentto do right now.Not to mention the fact that it is completely unconstitutional. ButWashington insists on torturing the numbers and tinkering around theedges rather than facing this truth.
If healthcare reform does indeed pass, we should not be under theillusion that it will be free. The money to pay for it will have tocome from somewhere. They say they will get the money from cuttingwaste, fraud and abuse, but all of that is seemingly intrinsic togovernment programs. Since they want to expand the government’s reachwe have to assume we will be trading waste, fraud and abuse for waste,fraud and abuse with a bigger budget. The powers that be have insistedthe money won’t come from higher taxes, it won’t come from rationing ofcare, and it won’t come from higher premiums. This can only then putmore pressure on the Fed to print the money out of thin air. We alreadyhave a weakening dollar. They are accelerating everything thatweakened it in the past. Adding this new, monumental pressure couldvery well be the straw that will break the dollar’s back.
Foreign creditors are already nervous about continuing to investin the US because of our skyrocketing debt. The explosion of debt thatis certain to accompany the enactment of this national health care billcan only add to that nervousness.
Ironically, enactment of the health care bill could help the causeof liberty by hastening the day when Congress is forced by economiccircumstances to stop increasing the welfare-warfare state and returnto the Constitution.
There are many problems with our current healthcare system, to besure. There are many tragic stories to be told. However, we need tolook at the root of our problems in order to address them properly. More government intervention and bureaucracy injected into healthcarewill take a flawed system and make immeasurably worse.