My Two Cents And How It May Affect Your Life

Just as your health was put into the hands of Senator Harry Reid, Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi and various committee chairs in Congress, now your financial future is in the hands of two men in Congress. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd (D-Conn) and House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass) are engaged in a financial reform effort that may be akin to the ObamaCare legislation we just saw pushed, bought, pulled and bribed through Congress. If the resulting legislation resembles the ObamaCare package there are some certainties we can count on, and some uncertainties that seem perfectly reasonable that we should bank on.

One certainty if things progress along similar legislative lines as ObamaCare and the American Recovery and Revitalization Act (aka Stimulus, aka Massive Amount of Pork) will be a bill that is a couple of thousand pages at least. We can count on few, if any, of those supporting and voting to pass the legislation to have read the bill. We can count on favors and carve outs for specific states, districts and constituencies. And we can count on the federal government intruding even further into our lives.

The end result will eventually be the same as ObamaCare, the government--and therefore you and I--will have so much invested in the financial components of the legislation that my business becomes everyone else's and everyone else's business becomes mine.

ObamaCare is being sold

(jump off p0int: if the legislation is so beneficial why does President Obama still need to sell it? It's the law now, why isn't he moving on? He sold it for over twelve months and the majority of Americans weren't buying, he ignored them and shoved the bill into law. What's his purpose in still campaigning for legislation he made law? jumping back in)

ObamaCare is being sold as actually saving the government money. Despite adding millions of people to MediCare and MediCaid or some form of government insurance program, we are to believe we will actually see the federal deficit decline. This happens one of two ways: higher taxes or lower spending on MediCare and/or MediCaid, or both. In the end your health care delivery and insurance becomes the responsibility of the United States government, and decisions will eventually come down to actuary tables and accounting principles of cost-benefit analysis.

The best way to save money will be to ensure that every single American, and illegal alien residing in America, lives a healthy lifestyle as defined by those in charge of the medical industry--you Congressional representatives and government appointees. Because your obesity and my proclivity for pork products are potential timebombs on the national balance sheet something must be done to change our habits and waistlines. So my two cents will become very valuable in shaping our future health care, and financial future.

Already we see the progress from creeping intrusion by government into our daily lives move past creeping and into steady (and creepy). We are in Arizona this week and every single menu has a warning printed on it about consuming raw or undercooked meat, poultry, seafood, shellfish or eggs may cause food borne illnesses--so can consuming spinach from Mexico or strawberries from parts of the San Joaquin Valley some years. Eating my second cousin's celery root casserole at Thanksgiving caused many an illness but we all knew it and avoided it, we didn't put it on the invitation. In New York they have banned cooking with transfats and are looking at banning the use of salt in food preparation. Salt!

Across the country as nanny-state legislatures get more more concerned about fat kids they start making more requirements on those who deliver the food than on those who are buying the food--but that will most likely change under ObamaCare. Instead of state by state having food bans, menu disclosure requirements and restaurant restrictions, the process of dictating your eating habits will now come under the federal government.

Since your kid drinking four sodas a day, eating six out of seven dinners from Wendy's or Burger King and having Trix or Pop Tarts for breakfast has made him look like Jackie Gleason while in the 4th grade his obesity is now my problem. Which is just what the liberals have wanted all along. Having slowly chipped away at the personal responsibility requirement for many in society, the new legislation will strip it away completely and put it in the hands of your neighbors and friendly government.

Obesity, diabetes, heart disease, joint deterioration, are all linked to inactivity and incredibly poor dietary choices. Not only what you eat but how much. So we can look forward to incredibly bland food and choices coming to us in increasingly small portions. If I owned stock in Claim Jumper I would be selling as there is no way they will be able to survive the coming bureaucratic decrees that will limit calories, sugar, sodium, fat content of servings and portion sizes. What's the point? Instead of underground Rave parties for twentysomethings the latest trend will be underground restaurant parties for fortysomethings getting texted late Saturday evening the location of the warehouse where a blackmarket chef will serve foie gras, braised pork belly, stuffed pork chops and chocolate mousse.

So what can result from a major reform of our financial industries? What about this scenario in 2014: Our neighbors have been buying a lot of toys lately, jet skis, cars, big screen televisions, time shares; she is a teacher and he works in solar technology. I think they may be overextending themselves and to protect my financial interests I will need to turn them in for investigation lest they go into foreclosure and lower the value of my home and that of other neighbors? The family down the street went through a government driven mortgage modification in 2010 and now are looking at an equity line of credit to remodel their kitchen. Have they paid back their modification, will they have enough money to pay for their children's college tuition in ten years? Have they saved enough money in their retirement accounts to fill the hole where social security used to be?

As an out of control liberal leadership in Congress feels empowered after its incredibly dysfunctional legislative process on ObamaCare tackles another industry one wonders where this is all headed? Will the intrusion of the government make us all so dependent on the overall results that a nation of Mrs. Kravitzes (for you younger folks Mrs. Kravitz lived across the street from Darren and Samantha Stevens on "Bewitched" constantly spying on them and the goings on in her neighbors home and reporting it to her disinterested husband)?

As the federal budget becomes more and more dependent on the choices of individuals it is not a far reach to assume that the already intrusive nature of the so called progressives (progressing further and further into our personal liberties) results in less and less personal liberties and choice choices. The goal is elimination of opportunity for what they deem poor choices and decisions and the ignorance of man's mortality and desire for some of us to enjoy this life as we are able.

Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness so long as it is sodium free, full of fiber and fiscally responsible in the eyes of your government...and neighbors.


DCS 04052010