Beware of Obama's liberal economic paradigm

By Chris Adamo

Attempting a retreat from the public relations disaster of Obamacare, Barack Obama has reverted to formerly safer ground. Last week, in a speech at the "Center for American Progress," a liberal think tank, Obama once again demagogued the issue of "income inequality," and promised to take decisive action to correct what he clearly perceives as the injustice of unequal distribution of wealth. In its coverage of the event, USA today swooned that he might be unveiling his plan for the focus of his remaining three years in office. Elsewhere, liberal commentators and politicians lauded his collectivist vision for America.

Admittedly, if past experience is any indicator, Obama may jettison the entire issue of elevating anyone's economic condition, the moment he feels safe from criticism over the escalating Obamacare debacle. During the past five years, he has assured Americans of his intention to "focus like a laser on jobs," on at least a dozen different occasions. Yet aside from regularly claiming that America's economic woes are the fault of George W. Bush and the Republicans, nothing of substance ever seems to happen.

On the other hand, the protracted and extremely dire repercussions of Obamacare may make it necessary for the administration and its Democrat lackeys on Capitol Hill to fan the flames of class warfare with renewed vigor in order to change the subject. Unlike the many previous bait and switch promises of liberal utopia such as "cash for clunkers" and those green energy boondoggles that dissipated into thin air after the squandering of a few billion taxpayer dollars, the implementation of Obamacare is directly affecting people across the nation. The ugliness of its reality is taking precedence over Obama's despicably disingenuous assertion that "you can keep your doctor" and your coverage if you like them. Millions are losing their current insurance policies, with such numbers certain to climb much higher as the mandates of the program soon begin choking off medical coverage provided by larger corporations.

So with the looming threat of Obama and the Democrats attempting to once again enhance the nation's fiscal health according to the same misbegotten ideology that has wreaked such havoc on the medical profession, it might be worthwhile to consider how thoroughly skewed their thinking on such matters actually is. Only by such means can an energized and coordinated opposition properly address the deceptions of the left, and thus turn back the onslaught.

The economic system that made America the greatest financial power and the most prosperous nation in the history of the world was not a lucky roll of the dice, nor a random result of having an abundance of the world's natural resources. Rather, it was based on a fundamental set of moral principles, which although they were not practiced flawlessly (no human effort ever is), reflected the Judeo-Christian ethic upheld by the founders. Consequently, an institutionalized respect for private property and the guarantee of reward for effort and production have been powerful incentives for every diligent and industrious individual to maximize the opportunities of the American system.

Over the years, inventors, builders, and producers could count on reaping the fruits of their risks and endeavors. Likewise, the abundance of economic activity provided citizens on Main Street with ample options to offer their skills and strengths in order to reap their best from the businesses growing and hiring in their midst. And while no such system is without its shortcomings, which require oversight and regulation, the overall effect of a market-driven economy is to raise living standards for all involved. By the latter years of the twentieth century, America had in this manner risen to the economic pinnacle of the world.

Unfortunately, having been completely steeped in the falsehoods of the collectivist state and the evils of capitalism and the free market, Barack Obama chooses to ignore the actual benefits of the American system. Consequently, when he promised to "fundamentally change America," it signaled his myopic devotion to the twisted notions of "equality" espoused by the likes of Karl Marx. And despite the unceasing efforts of the liberal media to convince Americans that their nation's fiscal health is improving, the quantifiable evidence reveals exactly the opposite. It is therefore no surprise that the actual plight of Americans has deteriorated considerably on his watch.

Invoking such tired catch phrases as "trickle down," along with his regular references to those evil "millionaires and billionaires," Barack Obama seeks to thoroughly convince lower and middle class Americans that some bright future awaits them, but that it is being denied them by evil and oppressive corporate forces who would instead consign them to lives of deprivation. Yet the truly despicable "trickle down" monetary policy occurs in Washington D.C. It is no coincidence that six of the nation's ten richest counties surround D.C, where America's wealth has been forcibly confiscated from the earnings of the people and consolidated in the hands of increasingly unaccountable federal bureaucrats who then bestow it upon their favored subjects.

Unlike any private business, which will lose its customer base and be forced to close its doors if its products fail to meet expectations, the government can simply demand a larger portion of any profits (raising taxes), or if all else fails, print more money. Hence, while the burdens of expanding government and accompanying mandates have stifled and choked real business growth across America since late 2008, public payrolls have ballooned. Though the real unemployment numbers for private business are appalling and have remained that way for the last five years, government workers have never enjoyed such high rates of employment. Likewise, median income in the private sector has dropped precipitously during that time, yet the average worker on public rolls is doing better than ever.

It is crucial to understand that an economic scenario of this nature cannot endure, and over time will lose momentum and implode. Government does not "produce" anything, so an expansion of its employment rolls does not equate to an increase in goods and services for the consumer. Those "millionaires and billionaires" whose reduced circumstances Obama dismissed with a sophomoric assertion that they "can still afford their flat screen television sets," will instead be reconsidering whether or not to build the new wing of the factory or expand payrolls in the face of increased overhead costs and diminished profits from which to fund such projects.

Finally, the whole illusion of government addressing and correcting the evils of "income inequality" presumes that the businesses will operate in a manner no different than a charity, ignoring monetary causes and effects, and focusing instead on what "benefits" can be offered to the employees. Reality paints a starkly different picture, and any "business" that attempts to conduct itself in that manner will shortly go bankrupt, at which point those ill-fated employees lose any and all benefits, along with their paychecks.

Conversely, a robust and unfettered economy would result in growing demands for qualified employees, which drives wages up, increasing employment options, and generally improving the standard of living for all involved. Of course another unavoidable side-effect would be decreased dependency on government. And that possibility is absolutely unacceptable to the liberal statists, who clearly prefer to see Americans rendered helpless and consigned to servitude.

© Chris Adamo