The beginning of the End

Many years from now, when historians write and speak about the collapse of America, they will mention several different things. Some may speak about the Progressive Era in the 20th century that started the proverbial snowball rolling downhill. They'll bring up things like the TR trustbusting, the New Deal, the Great Society programs of the 60s, the social engineering programs of the 1990s. Some may look at the recession of 08-09 as the trigger. Still others may simply look at the decline in morality, the erosion of personal responsibility, the overall dependence of the citizens on the state. But I believe most will view all these things as a growing powder keg, that exploded in March 2010. I believe most historians will look at the patient protection act (or whatever it's called) as the beginning of the end of the great American empire.


That makes me sad. Very, very sad. Posting this entry is truly a difficult thing to do.


We find ourselves in a moment in time where we are on the brink of economic turmoil. Our economy, our treasury is on life support. This law has pulled the plug.


This is a time where we face $50 trillion in unfunded obligations to medicare and social security, $12 trillion in debt to others, a steadily growing annual deficit and unprecedented, indeed inconceivable levels of government spending. And now Moody's has recently suggested that the US triple-A credit rating may soon be in jeopardy.


This is a time where we have to make some difficult choices as a society, and those choices are centered around how, where and to what extent should we reduce our spending. They involve the obvious necessity to grow the economy in the private sector by reducing taxes on individuals so money can be injected into the economy, and by freeing businesses and corporations from their tax burden so they can increase their payrolls. These are the things that must be done now. Our major priority is controlling our deficit and reducing our debt load. If we don't do these things, we face disastrous economic consequences.


Instead, today we pass a law that declares health care a human right, and guarantees insurance for all Americans, along with many illegal immigrants. It raises taxes on many Americans, and increases the burden on businesses thereby killing more jobs. It makes the health insurance industry an arm of the federal government and grants unprecedented control of our lives to Washington politicians, and it empowers the IRS to enforce an unprecedented mandate that forces ALL citizens to purchase a particular product. My god, what are we doing?


Some people will applaud the law. There will be smiles of jubilation. Those people have absolutely no clue. No matter how much we may want to help those who need medical care, the simple unavoidable truth is that we can't afford it. We're broke! Nothing changes that fact, not even the clever manipulation of numbers by some politicians.


Our debt is unsustainable. The obligations we have promised to medicare and social security are unsustainable. Yet, we top all of that off with arguably the largest entitlement program ever enacted. What are these people thinking?


In the 30s, the massive federal spending of the New Deal turned the recession of 1929 into what we now know as the Great Depression, and it lasted an entire decade. What will happen this time around?


This is the beginning of the end. America's default on her debt is inevitable. Its default on her obligations to social security and medicare are inevitable. Hyperinflation and rising interest rates are on the horizon, and so will the rapid devaluation of our once-powerful currency. We are poised to witness the greatest wipeout of wealth in human history, and today's events set those events into an irreversible motion. In short, all hope for a recovery, for a restoration of this country to its prior greatness, is now and forever gone. We will never recover from this.

Those who disagree will learn of it on their own accord. Those who agree must remember that God is always in charge no matter what.

And Mr. Stupak, to thine own self be true. Only you know the details of your vote. And that, sir, is now between you and the Almighty.

God help you. God help us all.