Liberal lies: We’re only trying to help

Many liberals have the idea that only they know best how we should conduct ourselves. In their view the best way to accomplish that is via big government. Along with that premise is the idea that any disagreement with their views is akin to heresy.

Like socialism, all are supposed to be equal. In practicality though, some are more equal than others. With socialism, there is only so much pie. Those at the top, or in power, get most of the pie. With capitalism, however, the amount of pie is virtually unlimited. When one pie runs out, someone somewhere will figure out how to make another one.

Come to think of it, maybe that is why liberals hate capitalism so much. When someone can create something that someone else likes and makes money from it, it is difficult to control them. That is partly why there are so many rules, regulations, and executive orders. It is a method of controlling business.

The Internet has been one of the least regulated industries around. It is as one pundit calls it, “The wild West.” Why is that bad? The internet has been the source of untold discoveries, new products, and innovations. It has been the vehicle that brought about several billionaires. Do Mark Cuban, Bill Gates, Michael Jobs, and Mark Zuckerberg come to mind? That doesn’t even begin to address the untold multimillionaires created from the Internet.

Alas, all good things must come to an end. The Internet is just too tempting as a target for big government to keep it hands off of. The FCC recently announced new regulations on Internet service providers. These regulations were developed without consumer input or congressional oversight. They are now in the public comment stage, which means they will ignore all input and implement them anyway.

The regulations are supposedly necessary to protect us from price gouging and require search placing be based on facts instead of number of hits. Next to come will be some sort of tax. It will begin with the excuse of needing to pay for the costs of regulating something that worked just fine without regulation. Make no mistake, this is only the beginning. Like public radio and television, what you can say and how you say it will eventually be regulated. Do you really believe this is not the end result intended? They just want the camel’s nose in the tent for now. The rest of the camel is coming soon, including the inevitable dung pile.

Another prime liberal example is Obamacare. I have probably flogged this one to death, but there are a lot of surprises still to come. For example, on Tuesday Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts reported a $118 million loss in 2014 compared to a $17 million loss in 2013. Both losses are attributed to drug costs, taxes, and fees brought about by Obamacare. Stay tuned, this is just the beginning. You, the taxpayer, will pay for this.

Liberals like to call the shots, if you will, for virtually all decisions affecting our lives. They maintain they are only looking out for us. Ironically, when someone else makes a decision they don’t like, their reaction is anything but mature. Witness Boehner’s invitation to Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to speak to Congress. Since the invitation didn’t come from Obama, 42 Democrats boycotted. Also, Joe Biden and John Kerry were conveniently out of the country, and President Obama was, well, around but too busy to attend. There must be a new golf course somewhere. Such antics are usually only seen on an elementary school playground. I am sure Boehner doesn’t care to listen to Obama’s State of the Union address, but he attends anyway. Therein is the difference.

Finally, over a much longer term we have been fighting a war for over 50 years, spending untold amounts of money on it. That is the “War on Poverty.” President Lyndon Johnson officially declared this war in 1964, not to be confused with the Vietnam War. Since then there have been 92 government programs that have spent over $15 trillion to “fix” government’s failure to win this war, and poverty rate is pretty much unchanged.

Liberals say they want to look out for us. “Just give us control and we will make things better.” In support of that, every liberal-run state and city in the U.S. is on the verge of bankruptcy. What we really need is less dewy-eyed idealism and more tough decision-making. Scott Walker, anyone?

Tom Riggins is an LVN columnist and maybe reached at news@lahontanvalleynews.com