Nowhere in the debate regarding health care has anyone asked if
the government is able and qualified to run such a system. Before
we ask government officials to manage universal health care, let’s
check them out.
How successful has the federal government been in managing
agencies, programs and businesses?
Let’s look at Medicare. The president and Congress propose to
extend Medicare to cover the 47 million people who lack health care
coverage. Did anyone remind Congress that Medicare is broke? It’s
rampant with fraud and abuse. Medicare and Medicaid fraud cost
taxpayers an estimated $60 billion per year.
Medicare is legally required to pay full retail prices for drugs
that could be obtained for far less in a competitive-bidding
system.
Health insurance companies are required by state regulators to
maintain a reserve for future liabilities. Every working stiff in
this country is required to pay premium taxes into Medicare, which
has no reserve. The federal government has been running the largest
Ponzi scheme ever created, and it is on the hook for $36 trillion
in unfunded liabilities.
On Aug. 4, 1977, Jimmy Carter declared war on energy dependence
and created the U.S. Department of Energy. Today, 31 years later,
the Department of Energy’s budget is $26 billion. It employs 16,000
people and 100,000 contract employees. We are no closer to energy
independence than we were in 1977.
The U.S. Postal Service lost $7 billion last year and is talking
about closing hundreds of offices.
The Federal Reserve was created by the Federal Reserve Act of
1913 to maintain a stable financial system. The Federal Reserve
gets failing marks for its direct complicity in the economic
meltdown and subsequent recession. The Federal Reserve has failed
us.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were created by Congress as
government-sponsored enterprises to provide low-interest funding
for the mortgage industry. These government-run mortgage banks were
created to provide competition and cheap loans to those who could
not afford normal market rates.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac own more than $5 trillion in mortgage
paper. On Sept. 7, 2008, they were declared insolvent and were
taken over by the Federal Housing Finance Agency and bailed out
with more than $400 billion—another government-run mess.
Amtrak was created by an act of Congress in October 1970 to run
the nation’s railroad system. Amtrak was supposed to reverse more
than two decades of continuous operating deficits. With a
congressional mandate to become profitable, it was given $40
million in initial funding, along with $100 million in loan
guarantees. After 38 years, Amtrak has never made a profit and
receives a federal subsidy, with no prospect in sight of breaking
even.
The war on drugs was started by President Richard Nixon in 1969.
The United States has been spending $69 billion a year worldwide
for the past 40 years, for a total of $2.5 trillion, on drug
prohibition—with little to show for it. Today, there are more drugs
on our streets at cheaper prices than ever before. It is easier for
young people to obtain illegal drugs than a six-pack of beer. Why?
Because sellers of illegal drugs don’t ask kids for IDs.
The list of government failures is long and telling. I can’t
wait for Government Motors’ new car. Are you waiting anxiously? Are
you holding your breath? That car will be on recall for many
years.
And you, Mr. President, want the government to run health
care?
Mr. President, our government can’t even run a railroad. How the
hell do you think the government will ever manage a universal
health care system?
Einstein once said, “The definition of insanity is doing the
same thing over and over again and expecting different
results.”
